More Information - Academics / Theory Builders

We are looking for the involvement of academics (including students) and other theory-builders who are doing research, teaching and theory-building in the area of community-based peacebuilding. You need not be a practitioner yourself, but we are looking for people who are interested in the connections between theory and practice, and who would welcome the opportunity to share ideas and test theories with those involved in the peacebuilding field.

We’re encouraging the participation of people who are from or whose work focuses on the regions highlighted in the symposium (East Africa, the Balkans, diaspora communities of areas in conflict) and/or whose theories could be relevant. We’re also looking for people with interest and expertise in the thematic areas of the symposium: "Diaspora Dialogues" and "Cultural Approaches to Peacebuilding".

Before the symposium we are looking for background papers related to the symposium themes. (These may or may not be what you present at the symposium). We also encourage all prospective participants to have reflected on the issues before coming to the symposium. In particular, we’d like you to think about theories you’d like to be shared, tested and discussed, and ways you could see the theories being applied. We’d also like you to think about the questions that you have about the conference themes in particular and community-based peacebuilding more generally. We plan to begin the dialogue before the symposium by sharing background documents and responses to the questionnaire and setting up a discussion forum through the website and/or listserv.

At the symposium we’d like academics and theorists to present key ideas and theories in peacebuilding in a way they can be taken up in a dialogue with others, including practitioners and policy-makers. (Please review the philosophy of the symposium). We are looking for presentations that encourage dialogue, allow for the testing of theories, and generate ideas and questions for the other participants and the presenters themselves. We also encourage you to bring relevant materials (e.g. posters, videos) to the ”Marketplace of Ideas”, an informal, interactive session where people can walk around and see what others are doing.

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