ASPIRE project expanding to Kenya

Participatory and refugee-led research

How do refugee communities create peaceful environments and de-escalate conflict? Most studies agree that community-based efforts are instrumental for ensuring peace, but we have limited evidence on how these efforts work - and how they unfold over many years. This is exactly what we examine in the ASPIRE project (Aspiring for Peace and Inclusion Research), which has been launched in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement in Kenya, in partnership with UNHCR. Through participatory and refugee-led methodology, ASPIRE project follows a generation of young South Sudanese refugees, in multiple countries over a period of 15 years, exploring how they perceive and pursue opportunities for peace. This detailed people-centred knowledge will develop new understandings on refugee’s endeavours for peace. ASPIRE was launched in Rhino Camp, Uganda, in 2023 and the findings in Kenya will allow for essential comparison across the border.

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