Confronting racism and Colonial Continuities in Peace and Conflict Work

Who can register for the course

The online course on Confronting Racism and Colonial Continuities in Peace and Conflict Work is offered to existing practitioners in the field, to those who are interested in working in the field, and to those who are committed and interested to learn more deeply about racism and colonial continuities in this field of work. There will be a maximum of 16 participants.

Content

The discussions on race and power dynamics within the peace and conflict work have slowly gained traction, albeit only confined to a few spaces and platforms.

This course aims to contribute to expanding this platform, and to further deepen the discussion and awareness raising on racism and colonial continuities within peace and conflict work. It will bring together practitioners and those who are planning to work in the field, to critically reflect on their existing knowledge on the subjects, explore the norms and practices within the field, question their individual roles and motivations, and identify anti-racist and decolonized ways of working.

The course invites practitioners to explore the following questions: What are the racial and colonial ways of thinking found at the interpersonal level and what needs to change? How do racism and the colonial continuities materialize in our peacebuilding practice and interventions, in institutions and knowledge production? What is needed to tackle racism and post-colonial inequality in the peace and conflict work? What should decolonized, anti-racist practices look like?

Key Topics

• Colonial continuities and its impact on institutions in peacebuilding work

• Creating working definitions of racism, white supremacy, decolonisation, white privilege and power, white fragility

• White supremacy culture in the peacebuilding field

• Institutional racism – structures, systems, and practices within peacebuilding environment

• Developing strategies towards anti-racist attitudes and behaviors within a peacebuilding context

• Building an anti-racist community of peace builders for support and courage

Training approaches

• Critical reflection of one’s organization ‘s role in the proliferation and maintenance of racist and colonial structures.

• Participants as the main resource. The course pays careful attention to the knowledge, skills, beliefs and experiences that each participant brings to the training space and builds on this knowledge to enrich the learning experience.

• Safe space. A lot of sensitivities may be present (due to the nature of the topic and the experiences that each one brings in). The course takes time build a space where trust is built and where everyone feels safe to speak and share their thoughts and ideas.

• Interactive. The course is designed to enable the participants to engage in the training content in a more active manner.