In 2007, an open call was made for individuals, groups and organisations involved in any kind of peacebuilding activity across the world to submit their approaches for potential publication. Those wishing to submit information about their approaches to peacebuilding were sent the scoring framework criteria, and were invited to complete a submission form, asking them a series of questions aimed at eliciting insightful and valuable information about the design and delivery of peacebuilding activity across the world.

Each submission was checked for consistency with the overarching ethos of Global Peacebuilders: to shine a spotlight on activities that contribute to the building and maintenance of sustainable peace. Above all, the focus was on ensuring that the approaches published would be subject to a fair and legitimate process in the assessment and selection of the submissions, and it was out of this desire for 'process' that the selection panel grew.

The remit of the selection panel was not to 'evaluate' which approaches represented 'best practice' or which were more 'effective' than others. Instead, out of the pool of peacebuilding approaches received, the panel aimed to select for publication those approaches that illustrated the challenges, difficulties, successes, training and innovation involved in building peace in areas of conflict. It is our hope that the final selection will offer readers new opportunities, new insights and, above all, new perspectives on their own approaches to peacebuilding.

Read on to learn more about the Global Peacebuilders Selection Panel...

Canice Hamill, Chair of Selection Panel

Canice is proprietor of Canice Consulting, an international consultancy operating in the fields of local and regional development, enterprise and employment development and management and technical support to EU networks and programmes.  He has in-depth knowledge of EU policies and programmes and considerable experience of working in Northern Ireland, other parts of the UK and in other Member States of the EU.  Types of consultancy assignments undertaken include programme design; and assistance on implementation,management, audit and evaluation of programmes and projects.

Angila Chada, Executive Director, Springboard Opportunities Limited

Currently Springboard’s Executive Director, Angila Chada has been responsible for innovative community based interventions aimed at building peace and capacity within disadvantaged communities for over 16 years. Other activities have included participation in a wide range of community planning and evaluation processes and holding Directorships in Intercomm and Success Foundation. Prior to Springboard, she built her professional skills base as a Manager in a London consultancy house. During her student years Angila served as Queens University’s Education Officer and was awarded honorary life membership.

Dr Neil Jarman, Director, Institute for Conflict Research

Neil Jarman is the director of the Institute for Conflict Research, an independent research centre specialising in policy related issues based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is an anthropologist by training and has worked on numerous themes related to political transition, including policing, hate crime, social identity, human rights and equality issues.

He was a specialist adviser to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for their inquiry into hate crime in Northern Ireland (2004-2005) and he is currently working with the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights / Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe in Warsaw as member of their expert panel on freedom of assembly.

Gráinne Kelly, Community Foundation for Northern Ireland

Gráinne Kelly is a researcher and practitioner specialising in peacebuilding theory and practice in post conflict societies. She holds an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ulster. She is currently coordinating the Victim Empowerment Project, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and the Foundations for Peace Network, exploring the role of indigenous foundations in supporting victims' issues in conflict or post conflict societies, including Colombia, Serbia, Sri Lanka and India. 

She has previously held research positions with INCORE, a research institute of the University of Ulster and Democratic Dialogue, a policy-focused think tank based in Belfast.  She co-developed (with Brandon Hamber) a two-year research project exploring the theory and practice of reconciliation in Northern Ireland and, in 2006, conducted a four-month study visit to Cambodia to explore cross-cultural applicability of this research and the experience of reconciliation in a post-genocidal society.  Since 2004, she has worked as an independent consultant and trainer for a variety of organisations including Save the Children UK, Healing through Remembering, WAVE Trauma Centre and Belfast City Council's Good Relations Unit. She is an associate of Mediation Northern Ireland and the Office for Psychosocial Issues based at the Free University, Berlin.

Louise Little, Co-operation Ireland

Louise Little is the co-ordinator of the CORE Project, (Community Outreach Reconciliation and Engagement) a cross border and cross community project developed between community stakeholders from the Finglas South, Dublin and Inner East Belfast, and Co-operation Ireland. Louise was born and raised on the Shankill Road, and holds a BSc in Psychology and Legal Studies.

Working in the community and voluntary sector since 2000 she has been involved in a range of work with a different groups and organisations including: EPIC (Ex-Prisoners Interpretive Centre) researching needs and experiences of loyalist ex-prisoners children, funding and development work with Shankill Women's Centre, Citywide Women's Consortium coordinating the development of education and employability skills for women and SCOI (Springvale Community Outreach Initiative) working with the community to build capacity in North, West and Great Shankill areas of Belfast. Louise has worked in South Africa, Israel/Palestine and Serbia, involving activities ranging from; building confidence in the use of english, co-facilitating workshops to explore various aspects of conflict transformation and researching the role of women in communities living with, and beyond, conflict.

Linda McClelland, Director, War on Want NI

War on Want NI was started by a small group of people concerned about a world where two thirds of its people were suffering. The aim of the group was to highlight the poverty in the world to the people of Northern Ireland and to raise funds to alleviate the suffering cause by poverty.

War on Want NI became the first independent International Non Government Development Agency in Northern Ireland when it cut its ties with the British organisation in 1976. Since that time support has been given to hundreds of small scale projects benefiting hundreds of thousands of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The strategic direction of the organisation 2005 - 2008 is to focus its resources on Africa where we have programmes in Uganda and Malawi, and by 2007 in Tanzania. Support and development assistance is given to local partner organisations to develop and improve the lives of the people in their communities.

Recognising the need for growth to address the demands caused by increasing poverty in Africa, War on Want NI established its sister organisation Fighting World Poverty in Dublin in April 2005.

Dr Brian Scott, Chief Executive, Oxfam Ireland

Brian has been Chief executive of Oxfam Ireland since its de-merger from Oxfam UK + Ireland in 1998. He has previously worked for 8 years in education and educational publishing in Africa, Mexico, and UK, followed by 25 years in agribusiness development in Ireland, USA, and developing countries. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he also worked as a research associate.

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