Creativity as Research Practice: Exploring peace and conflict through women’s voices

What’s on offer?

Do you want to understand peace and conflict through local women’s perspectives? Do you want to learn new ways of working with typically marginalised women groups, through the production of verifiable content in a bottom–up community-led process that empowers the voiceless? Do you want to explore how visual methodologies can be used to co-produce alternative, richer understandings of the stories ordinary people tell which in turn, facilitates knowledge-production? These films bring together the work of two projects centred on the importance of women’s voices in the peace and conflict dynamics in conflict-affected areas.

This event will include a digital series screening of two films amplifying the voices of local women in the peace and conflict dynamics in Nigeria (60 minutes) followed by a Q&A engagement session (45 minutes). There will also be a series of podcasts centred around these topics for a diverse cross section to participate in and share their thoughts.

Events:

Wednesday 9th November 2022 (11:00-17:00) Podcasts (12:30-13:30 & 17:30-18:30): Students (A-levels and Colleges)

Thursday 10th November 2022 (11:00-17:00) Podcasts (12:30-13:30 & 17:30-18:30): General Public

Friday 11th November 2022 (11:00-17:00) Podcasts (12:30-13:30 & 17:30-18:30): Practitioners, NGOs, Policy Makers, Charities and General Public

What’s it about?

Nigeria, the giant of Africa, has been challenged by various cycles of violent conflict some becoming more deadly than others. The most affected are the women, who withstand the worst of all conflicts but their voices are always relegated to the background. There is a pressing need to shed new light on the stories ordinary people (women) tell about their everyday experiences, within conflict-afflicted environments, in order to bring about positive change to their lives. The films show that women are an untapped resource for their soft influence on how societies and people work to tackle conflict in a more nuanced way. Giving a voice to the women can actually develop community capacity to stimulate action, and serve as a medium for conveying and influencing decision making at various levels.

Who’s leading the event?

This event is being led by Dr Zainab Mai-Bornu, Lecturer in International Politics, School of History, Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester.

Open to

Anyone is welcome to attend - please see 'What's on offer' for more details

Of particular interest to

This will be of particular interest to young people thinking about studying politics, development and international relations and other social science degrees; practitioners, policy makers, local charities working on the environment, peacebuilding, conflict, gender and others simply interested in the work researchers in the University of Leicester undertake.