2007 Community-Based Peacebuilding Across Borders and Boundaries Symposium – Proceedings Available

Participants create a working agenda during InterChange's 2007 Community-Based Peacebuilding Across Borders and Boundaries symposium

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InterChange’s Community-Based Peacebuilding Across Borders and Boundaries symposium, held November 6-9, 2007 in Kigali, Rwandabrought together practitioners, theorists and policy makers to:
* Inform and explore theory and practice in community-based peacebuilding
* Create, support and collaborate on ideas and research projects across borders
* Connect and strengthen the InterChange network of peacebuilding theorists and practitioners around the world, particularly in East Africa
* Learn about the situation in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region and build shared capacity for income-generating activities, conflict resolution, human rights work, trauma healing and reconciliation, and sustainable agriculture
* Contribute to domestic and foreign policy on peacebuilding issues

Symposium Themes:
This symposium involved in-depth discussion of the theory and practice around two thematic areas: “Diaspora Dialogues” and “Cultural Approaches to Peacebuilding”

Symposium Context:
The title of the symposium – Community-Based Peacebuilding Across Borders and Boundaries – reflected the event’s aim to build bridges of understanding and collaboration across borders and boundaries of all kinds. These include geographical borders, especially between the global North and South, and between diaspora communities and their homelands. The event offered the opportunity for people from very different localities including countries surrounding the Great Lakes region of Africa to come together to learn from each others’ experience.

Another boundary we crossed is that of role – by bringing together theorists, practitioners and policy-makers to build theory and learn from the perspective of the other. Through this event we were able to build bridges of dialogue and mutual support across borders of gender, ethnicity and generation.

All of those who attended were encouraged to be active participants. Presentations made during Module 1 were catalysts for intensive large and small group discussions and theory development.

The Symposium was hosted by:

• InterChange
• Peacebuilding, Healing and Reconciliation Programme (PHARP) Rwanda
• Transformative Learning Centre, University of Toronto

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders:

• Canada Council for the Arts; Conseil des Arts du Canada
• Canadian Auto Workers’ Social Justice Fund; Les Fonds de justice sociale des TCA
• Canadian International Development Agency; Agence canadienne de developpement international (CIDA-ACDI)
• International Development Research Centre; Le Centre de recherches pour le developpement (IDRC-CRDI)