‘Pathways to Peace’: success and renewal
Our successful research grant scheme has, over the past year, supported for the first time projects with a focus on developing a better understanding specific issues relating to peace. The results have been excellent, with the focus on peace set to be extended for another year.
‘Pathways to Peace’ was created in 2024 in partnership with Academi Heddwch Cymru, Wales’ national peace institute. It was added to the LSW research grant-scheme’s pre-existing funding streams for Wales Studies, arts, humanities and social studies, and early career research.
Of the twenty-six projects that received grants of up to £2000, four came via ‘Pathways to Peace’:
| Project Title | Lead Proposer | Lead Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Co-developing improved access to psychosocial interventions and social prescribing in the community for people seeking refuge and asylum. | Dr Rabeea’h W Aslam | Cardiff University |
| A Welsh pathway to peace: Storytelling and forced migration: | Dr Gillian McFadyen | Aberystwyth University |
| Supporting girls’ everyday politics in Uganda | Dr Rosie Walters | Cardiff University |
| Stories of peace from Myanmar to Wales: place-based storytelling and pedagogic decolonising for displaced youth | Dr Yi Li | Aberystwyth University |
The money from grants is intended for organising workshops that result in the development of new networks or research agendas.
The success of the stream has resulted in Academi Heddwch Cymru agreeing to extend the ‘Pathways to Peace’ stream for a second year, with applications reopening in the autumn.
Dr Barbara Ibinarriaga Soltero said: “We’re so pleased that we can offer ‘Pathways to Peace’ grants for another year.
“The projects we backed in the first year were all important and respond to the challenging times we currently face.
“They also reflect an awareness of how ‘peace’ is about more than simply the absence of war.
‘The partnership with Academi Heddwch Cymru is an example of how we are well placed to work with partners to progress their aims and develop our work to make Wales a great place to research and be a researcher.’
One of the workshop grants supported a digital storytelling project that brought together academics, Welsh refugee advocates, health services, and cultural institutions to respond creatively to the question: ‘What does peace in Wales mean to you?’ Led by Dr Gillian McFadyen and Dr Arddun Arwyn at Aberystwyth University, the first digital stories from the project are featured in this article. These creative works will form part of a national travelling exhibition by the Welsh Refugee Council in December.