Peace, Dialogue and Citizenship Education in West Africa: Non-Formal Learning for the Development of Strong Institutions and Civil Society

我的博士研究涉及发援会名单上国家的可持续发展。我审查了受冲突影响和脆弱的社会中对话、和平和教育的相互作用。特别是，我认为，在建设和平和教育话语中，对话往往被视为和解和社会变革的途径，我对个人变革和社会变革之间经常采取的线性做法提出质疑。我强调非正规学习空间和日常生活作为这种对话和潜在变革的载体的重要性，我认为，这些空间在受冲突影响的地区发挥着关键作用，在这些地区，正规学校往往停止运作，但在那里，和平与公民教育是迫切需要的。我的论文从保罗·弗莱雷和马丁·布伯的作品中发展出一个人性化对话的概念，并将其应用于现实世界：科特迪瓦阿比让的街头讨论空间。这些空间由两种截然不同的形式组成：一种是全会风格的空间，被称为agoras或pares，曾经聚集了数百人；另一种是被称为咧嘴笑的朋友和邻居的小型非正式圈子，在这里，人们一边煮传统茶，一边讨论问题。这些空间在21世纪初科特迪瓦政治危机期间成为重要的政治环境，是学习和行动的场所，有时在2010-2011年选举后危机中转向暴力。这些网站还体现了政治和社会分歧，露齿而笑的通常是支持阿拉萨内·瓦塔拉的北部穆斯林伊沃里亚人，而阿戈拉则通常迎合支持洛朗·巴博的基督教伊沃里亚人，其中许多人来自西部和南部。在我的研究中，我将这些空间放在冲突后的背景下考虑，探讨它们在和平时期的转变，并审查不同空间如何进行对话，以及成员如何认为它们的参与有助于或不有助于和平与和解。我在2014年进行了定性研究，在40个讨论空间进行了100多个小时的观察，并对30名参与者进行了深入访谈。调查结果显示，GRIGN和AGORA的成员实际上都认为和平是一个自上而下的过程，需要从政府开始；然而，空间往往成为通过社会网络和创建小型协会在地方一级进行改变和改进的起点。这项研究还强调了在不可能进行群体间对话的情况下，单一群体对话的价值。例如，在考虑弗莱尔的反思和行动概念时，研究表明，通过讨论空间，草根变革的地点实际上是发展起来的，在那里，邻居们将组成协会，对抗他们认为对他们的社区最紧迫的问题。在GCRF博士后奖学金期间，我将能够扩展这项研究，同时将其应用于一个跨国教育项目。联合国和其他发展组织最近就青年在全球和萨赫勒地区建设和平中的作用发表了重要声明。作为教科文组织目前在萨赫勒的全球公民教育项目的研究员，我将利用我的研究和经验，为失学青年和那些有可能被极端组织招募的人制定非正规教育战略。此外，我在和平与公民教育和对话学习方面的理论知识也将有助于学习材料和评估系统的发展。更重要的是，在奖学金期间，我将能够与该地区的学者、学生和发展实践者交流，分享我的发现，并动员他们参与项目、研究和政策。因此，GCRF博士后奖学金为我之前的研究提供了一个理想的继续。

My doctoral research relates to the sustainable development of countries on the DAC list. I examine the interface of dialogue, peace and education in conflict-affected and fragile societies. In particular, I consider how dialogue is often viewed as a pathway to reconciliation and social transformation in both peacebuilding and educational discourses and I challenge the linear approach often taken between personal and societal change. I highlight the importance of non-formal learning spaces and daily life as vehicles for such dialogue and potential change and I argue that these spaces take on a critical role in conflict-affected areas where formal schools often cease to function but where peace and citizenship education is acutely needed. My thesis has developed a concept of 'humanising dialogue' drawn from the works of Paulo Freire and Martin Buber and applied it to a real-world situation: street discussion spaces in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. These spaces were composed of two distinct forms: plenary-style spaces called agoras or parlements that once amassed hundreds of people and small, informal circles of friends and neighbours called grins where issues were discussed whilst preparing traditional tea. These spaces became important political milieus in the early 2000s during Côte d'Ivoire's political crisis and represented sites of both learning and action, sometimes veering towards violence in the 2010-2011 post-electoral crisis. The sites also exemplified political and social divisions, with grins generally regrouping northern, Muslim Ivoirians who supported Alassane Ouattara while agoras generally catered to Christian Ivoirians, many from the West and South, who supported Laurent Gbagbo. In my research, I consider these spaces in the post-conflict context, exploring their transformation in peacetime and examining how dialogue occurs in different spaces and how members view their participation as contributing, or not, to peace and reconciliation. My qualitative study conducted in 2014 involved over 100 observation hours in 40 discussion spaces and in-depth interviews with 30 participants. Findings showed that members of both grins and agoras actually viewed peace as a top-down process that needed to start with the government; nevertheless, spaces often became the starting ground for local-level change and improvement, through social networks and the creation of small associations. This research also highlighted the value of single-group dialogue in settings where intergroup dialogue was not a possibility. For example, in considering Freire's concept of reflection and action, the research demonstrated that through discussion spaces, sites of grassroots change were actually developed where neighbours would form associations to combat the issues they found most pressing to their community. During the GCRF postdoctoral fellowship, I will be able to expand upon this research while simultaneously applying it in a multinational education project. The United Nations and other development organisations have recently made prominent declarations regarding the role of youth in peacebuilding, globally and in the Sahel region. As a Research Fellow for UNESCO's current Global Citizenship Education project in the Sahel, I will use my research and experience to develop strategies for non-formal education for out-of-school youth and those at risk of recruitment into extremist groups. In addition, my theoretical knowledge of peace and citizenship education and dialogic learning will also contribute to the development of learning materials and evaluation systems. More so, during the fellowship I will be able to engage with academics, students and development practitioners in the region to share my findings and to mobilise them in projects, research and policy. Thus the GCRF Postdoctoral Fellowship provides an ideal continuation of my previous research.