Research & Other Projects

InterChange research and other projects fundamentally define and solidify the organization and its work. Projects are multi-dimensional in that they integrate with all other aspects of the organization’s work including education, action, community building and relationship building. Read more about how InterChange approaches its project work.

InterChange has initiated a number of projects that are currently being coordinated by members around the world:

Collection of Mother-Tongue Proverbs, Sayings and Greetings
In many cultures, especially those based on a strong oral tradition, proverbs and sayings are an important source of cultural wisdom. Many such proverbs relate to peace, and give a picture of a community’s understanding of the concept of peace, as well as indicate ways to work toward peace. Learn more about this project or contact Hezron Masitsa (Kenya) to become involved.

Community Arts for Peace
Community arts include: theatre, music, dance, puppetry, visual arts, film, and other art forms. Some initial goals for this group are: to connect community artists (create a network); to share experiences of using the arts for peacebuilding; to create a tool kit of resources related to the field; to organize workshops, performances and projects that use community arts for peacebuilding; to create a space for dialogue on ways the arts can be used to build peace. Learn more about the project or contact Sara Escott (Canada) to become involved.

Diaspora Dialogues Research/Project
InterChange members are exploring ways in which peacebuilders from Diaspora and from their countries of origin could work together to find ways to advance peace, both through the infusion of this dimension into the work of InterChange and through specific projects.

Documentation of Traditional Methods of Justice
This aim of this project is to research and document traditional cultural methods of justice and reconciliation from different cultures and parts of the world. The values and assumptions underlying the models will be studied, as will their contribution to restorative justice. The methods will be published as a series of accessible, easy-to-use documents. Learn more about this project or contact Anne Goodman (Canada) to become involved.

Food/Peace Book
A book of stories of how food has been used for peacebuilding. The book will include recipes, pictures, poems and songs. Collecting the stories, trying out the recipes and launching the book will all be used as community-building and public education activities. Learn how to make a submission or contact Mary-Jane McKitterick (Canada) for more information.

International Network of Small Craft Co-operatives
Culture and local crafts are important for peacebuilding in many ways. These include: the documenting of local culture and history; bringing people together to network; a means of gathering in a way which promotes healing and reconciliation; and a means to generate income, especially important for women victims of war and violent conflict. This project aims to create an international network of craft co-operatives to explore these issues. Contact Gordana Sajinovic (Serbia) for more information or to participate in this project.

Media and Peacebuilding
A group of InterChange members will share knowledge and information about peace journalism, peace media, including theory, research and training materials. This project will also advance understanding, in Canadian and other communities, about the impacts of particular conflicts. Contact Katie Meyer (Canada) for more information or to become involved in this group.

Peace Dictionary
The development of a dictionary of terms and concepts used in peacebuilding.

Peacebuilding Frameworks and Models
This project will collect, develop and then field-test models and frameworks used in peacebuilding. In the experience of many InterChange members, many commonly-used frameworks and models reflect certain cultural assumptions, and may not bring in all the necessary dimensions or incorporate sufficient complexity. The multi-dimensional models developed in this project may address and/or include concepts such as peacebuilding, diaspora and social capital.

Research on Peacebuilders
This project represents a consolidation of research on peacebuilders that has been done or is currently being done by several InterChange members in a number of locations: Canada, the Middle East, the United States, Uganda and Somalia. In all cases, key questions include: how people get involved in peacebuilding, what keeps them involved, and what their work involves. This project plans to compare and contrast the different research findings and to examine whether a broad framework can be developed that others could use to do similar research and add to the findings. In keeping with InterChange’s commitment to bridging theory and practice, this project will aim to bring research about community-based peacebuilders to the theory level, as well as to create an accessible document for practitioners to learn from and contribute towards. Contact Marta Santamaria (Canada) for more information or to become involved in this research.

Tool-kit for Peacebuilders
In most fields of knowledge and practice, for example medicine, there is an agreed-upon body of knowledge, skills to be mastered and practices to be drawn from; this does not exist in the field of community-based peacebuilding. This project is working to create a comprehensive tool-kit or manual for community-based peacebuilders. The tool-kit will incorporate and consolidate the results of several of the projects listed below, including peacebuilding models, the peace dictionary, proverbs, and research on peacebuilders, as well as communications tools, best practices and resource guides. Contact Anne Goodman (Canada) for more information or to participate in this project.

Contact interchange@interchange4peace.org to learn more about or participate in any of these projects.