New Information & News Stream

PEACE TALKS

A new news and information feed (in English) on peace processes

This is new source of news and information about peacebuilding, mediation and peace processes around the world. This app (designed by Factr.com) has enabled our Co-Curators to draw on more than 500 sources (and growing) of published news. It is available free (just follow the site on your browser) or to have as an app (Factr) on you iPhone. This is a resource for anyone engaged or interested in the practical work of mediation and peacebuilding. It is premised on the idea that relevant comparative experiences are are rich source of ideas and inspiration – and it provides a steady flow. of these. Normally buried in the relative obscurity particular geographies and under the preponderance of news on violence and war, these selected articles make the case for the clear and transparent value of efforts to prevent, resolve and transform organised armed conflicts. Unlike other sites related to peace, Peace Talks is focussed on news and information on building peace by peaceful means.

 

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What is in and what is out (*and why)

Using 150 words (and growing *see below), we have sought to create a broad and inclusive filter that, together, broadly defines applied peacebuilding. It is as broad as a list of words that describe all kinds of interventions (by many people and many types of organisations) that are purposefully designed to sustain peace.

Of course there are no clear boundaries, but editorially we are seeking to prioritise deliberate interventions and significant positive changes in conflict contexts and exclude most diplomatic statements, visits and handshakes (articles about which are large in number) and also more indirect educational events like workshops and publications. Here are the criteria we are using in our inclusive approach: Peace_Talks_Search_Criteria. While we have not listed it here, we also have an even larger number of exclusion terms that help the stream run clean and these mostly relate to violence, sport and commerce.

We are very eager to have feedback on whether we should include additional search terms (please send them in), and your views on whether this focus is a legitimate and useful one.

Where are the stories of civil society/NGO/community peacebuilding?

As we have a special interest in uncovering experiences and perspectives that are otherwise hard to find or distinguish, we admit to being proactive in our approach to ensuring diversity of both sources and subjects. We are aware of the vital and creative roles in mediation and peacebuilding played by community leaders and local and international community and nongovernmental organisations, but we struggle to ensure their fair representation in this stream. We are actively looking for sources, including organisational websites – as close as possible to their sources, and would appreciate the suggestion of our readers. Of course, there are many reasons why many intervenors make an active choice to keep their stories out of the media, but if people and policy makers are going to better understand and value the interventions of peacebuilders these stories will need to be made public.

Sign-up as a Contributor

While anyone can have the access of a Viewer, if you would like to be a Contributor (which permissions that enable to you to post up new materials or highlight articles at any time), just send an email to andy@peacebuilding.co.uk

Join us as a Co-curator

Our ideal is that this resource flows as a reader co-curated stream.  We aim to have a minim of ten Co-curators, with the full access privileges to post new content, add new (RSS) sources, add new filter (inclusion/exclusion) terms, and to help keep the stream running focussed and relevant by ‘hiding’ irrelevant stories. This requires a commitment to visit the site at least one or more times a week.

Researchers

While the site has a search function, if you have a particular geographic or thematic interest, articles can be tagged and the App has a great facility for generating bespoke and shareable reports. The site would make a very useful data source for students with an interest in peace journalism.

Please take a minute to give us feedback

This is still in development stage so we need to know if you are encountering any glitches of finding anything difficult to navigate or whether you are finding it useful. (send an email to andy@peacebuilding.co.uk

Spread the word!

Please help us to promote the availability of the site through your networks and social media contacts. It was made to be used. The designers at Factr have also created a widget if you would be interested in adding this feed to your website please get in touch.

Thank you and we hope you find it useful,

/The Co-Curators

Author: Andy

Andy Carl is an independent and internationally recognised expert on conflict resolution and public participation in peace processes. He is the co-founder of Conciliation Resources, where he was the Executive Director for twenty-one years. Prior to this he was the first staff member and Programme Director at International Alert. He studied English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley and Anglo-Irish Literature at Trinity College Dublin. He was recently made an Honorary Fellow of Practice at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh and a Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute. He now serves as an adviser to a number of peacebuilding initiatives and organizations including the Inclusive Peace and Transition Initiative at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and the Legal Tools for Peace-Making Project in Cambridge and the Political Settlements Research Programme at the Global Justice Academy, University of Edinburgh.

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