This project was carried out in co-operation with the Legal Advice Centre.
The Legal Advice Centre hosts a website on peacebuilding and human rights called www.knowaboutpeace.com.
Following the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between Royal Holloway and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies in 2020, this project saw students from both institutions working internationally to produce content on human rights and peacebuilding. The information aims to help people understand and identify abuses, be able to challenge human rights violations, and explain/support peacebuilding measures to promote peace and a functioning civil society. The website is also aimed at UK stakeholders to help develop a more effective and inclusive understanding of critical issues in Somaliland and the Horn of Africa.
Although staff provided supervision, students were strongly encouraged to take control of the project. Our team heavily prioritised ‘student ownership’ as a constructive and valuable learning experience; as such, participants were deliberately trusted with significant responsibility for their own and their peers’ learning. Teams consisted of students across both institutions equally to fully promote international collaboration and maximise the benefits of peer learning with students from a different country/culture.
It is important that we prepare graduates for roles where they must work in teams – not only within their organisation but with partner organisations and other stakeholders. Cultivating effective and successful relationships is key in a globalised working environment.
We brought together 20 students from several degree programmes, multiple nationalities, and from all levels, including first year undergraduates up to masters students.
The project was also supported by Royal Holloway’s Centre for International Security and saw collaborative supervision across Law and Criminology and Politics and International Relations. More about the pedagogical aspects of the project can be found here.
Structure & Objectives
The project sought to put into practice research on peer learning, student ownership, enquiry-based learning, international collaboration, and social responsibility to mutually benefit students in the UK and Somaliland and promote more effective learning by creating a website on human rights and peacebuilding. The website freely disseminates information on human rights and peacebuilding for stakeholders in Somaliland and the Horn of Africa, with additional relevance for policymakers in the UK.
Duration
The project ran from March to December 2021.
Dissemination Activities
The members of the team have been engaged in disseminating the pedagogical approaches by preparing a peer-reviewed article on the project. The website itself will also be disseminated to stakeholders in Somaliland through the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.
Research Team
The principal investigators in this project were Dr Alexander Gilder (Lecturer in Law) and Ms Nicola Antoniou (Senior Lecturer in Law and Director of the Legal Advice Centre).
Dr Michelle Bentley (Reader in International Relations and Director of the Centre for International Security), Dr Nasir Ali (Director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Hargeisa) and Dr Daniela Lai (Lecturer in International Relations) also actively contributed to the project.
