Our Methodology
Violent conflict causes death, injury and displacement. It deprives people of their livelihood, prevents access to schooling and health care, destroys the institutions that produce social stability and undermines the fabric of society. When violence erupts, investment in human, social and economic development is lost.
Peacebuilding is vital in order to create the conditions in which human, social and economic development can flourish. We build peace to reduce violence and mitigate the horrors of it. We also build peace so that people have a chance to develop and improve their livelihood.
Our methodology rests on three pillars:
Conflict analysis before, during and after our time of intervention, informing the design of our projects, providing information and insight, aiding all who are helping to transform conflict. If peace processes are to be effective, it is vital that participants are well-informed. They need to be informed about one another’s positions, they need to be informed about the views of the entire population, not just the most vocal, and external actors must have a proper understanding of the history and nuance of the conflict. Only then will any agreement address the root causes of the conflict and create the conditions necessary for lasting peace. Research is therefore a key component in Concordis’ work. We engage acknowledged experts to do this research for us. Much of this work is published.
Conflict Analysis
Facilitating Dialogue
We facilitate dialogue between groups affected by conflict, building trust and confidence, creating a shared vision for the future and laying foundations for the restoration of peace. Dialogue is at the heart of what we do and the way we work. We use dialogue to build trust and foster relationships. Building trust in us as an impartial third party is an essential first stage in any peacebuilding process. This involves working with individuals and communities on each side of the conflict.
Building Resilience
We build resilience beyond our time of intervention by equipping local people with skills needed for peacebuilding, giving a voice to people who aren’t normally heard (including women and youth), communicating and advocating recommendations from dialogue processes to policy makers, and sharing our lessons learned with others.
We seek to build resilience in the societies we work in, so that peace may last long after our projects come to an end. We do this in two ways:
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Concordis’ work is undertaken through staff engaged in our local offices in South Sudan, Mauritania, the Central African Republic and South Darfur. Our local office staff are all African in origin and most are nationals of the country in which they work. They have been trained in Concordis’ methodology and are instrumental in implementing our programmes. Through Concordis they have been equipped to work as peacebuilders nationally and locally.
A significant element of our programmes is focused on training local people to work as peacemakers. We establish and train peace committees comprising 30 to 40 people in each committee in South Sudan and Sudan. Over 100 community mediators have been trained in 35 towns and villages in Mauritania, where there is tension between communities. Conferences arranged have included capacity building in conflict analysis and conflict resolution techniques.
This has all resulted in an extraordinary level of peacebuilding capacity that wouldn’t be there without Concordis’ work.
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Concordis’ work provides people in communities with an influence in policy making that they otherwise would not have.
In societies subjected to violent conflict, ordinary people don’t have a voice. Mechanisms for their views to be taken into account have broken down. Concordis’ dialogue processes promote consensus over ideas generated by members of communities. These ideas are collated and agreed as recommendations.
Concordis communicates these recommendations to policy makers, including:
Negotiators and mediators engaged in high-level political negotiations
Ministers and civil servants in national governments
Ministers and civil servants in regional (provincial) government
Administrators at local government level.
Such work successfully influenced the Cooperation Agreement made between Sudan and South Sudan, where the elements relating to the development of livelihoods, trade and security at the border were based on recommendations produced at conferences facilitated by Concordis.
At regional and local levels, recommendations from Concordis conferences have provided the foundation for development of policy on pastoral migration. This takes place annually when pastoralists from Sudan move into South Sudan in order to graze and water their cattle. Violent conflict associated with this has reduced as consistent policy has been implemented.
We believe that informed dialogue between people on different sides of conflict :
Builds trust across lines of conflict and social divisions
Facilitates consensus-building on the basis of shared interests
Contributes positively to negotiation processes
Creates the climate for more generally peaceful relations.
