University of South Wales – Research visit to Switzerland
Swiss Peace have a large group of scholars from around the world. Many of them are working on indigenous knowledge and peace building. Indigenous knowledge offers alternative perspectives and knowledge that can be effective for peacebuilding. This means that in order to bring peace to conflict areas around the world where cultures are different, it’s impossible to use one single recipe. Local knowledge, history, traditions, and culture need to be taken into account and local communities need to be involved in coming up with a peaceful solution to conflicts. In my work, I try to explore areas where different cultures, nations, communities, and societies can share their unique perspectives, welcoming alternative views. The aim is reducing hierarchies, and building and strengthening bonds, trust, and relationships where different perspectives are valued and not seen as primitive.
When I heard of the opportunity offered through the Taith funding, I was very keen to go to Swiss Peace to work with the scholars there. I had one particular person in mind – Dr Maria Birnbaum. I specifically wanted to work with her, to learn more about her research, and to get feedback on an academic paper that I am writing.
A week before I went on the visit to Switzerland, I was asked whether I would be happy to be a discussant at the launch of a book by Florian Weigman, an academic who works on Afghanistan. A discussant is the person who introduces the session and highlights the main points from a range of ideas discussed – in this case, the main subject was the book that was launched. We had a really productive discussion with students from the University of Basel who attended the event.
I also had the opportunity to meet with five other scholars who were working on a wide range of projects that were connected to my research. I am hoping to develop further research collaborations with one of them.
I attend lots of conferences, many of them are international conferences. The Taith experience has been different because it allows you to plan ahead carefully, and to actively collaborate with fellow international researchers – it is an individual, tailored experience that was very productive.
The impact of the Taith mobility on my research and teaching is manifold. There’s a lot you can learn by reading books and academic papers in a library. But the actual experience of meeting scholars, talking to them and collaborating really stretches your mind in a different way. Sometimes in the academic world, we focus a lot on going to conferences, which is the conventional way of doing things. Funding opportunities like Taith provide more opportunities for staff to look beyond conferences and engage in knowledge exchange, making new connections and collaborate with fellow academics while we share with them the work that we do at University of South Wales. Connections matter a lot, and although we can make connections virtually, meeting face to face helps you build a stronger, deeper relationship with your colleagues. Taith is a significant stepping stone to establish and develop partnerships before applying for larger sources of research funding. I’m not aware of other sources of funding that allow you to do this. And last but not least, this was also an opportunity to raise the profile of Wales internationally.
