Event Navigation
- This event has passed.
November 28, 2018 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm UTC+0
MHPSS.net was pleased to host the webinar“Co-creating a Collaborative Approach to Peacebuilding and MHPSS“with Friederike Bubenzer Peacebuilding (Peacebuilding practitioner, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation) and Marian Tankink (Mental Health Advisor, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation) on 28th November, 2018 at 1 pm UTC.
Over the past three years, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) and its partner War Trauma Foundation led a desk-research project aimed at narrowing the gap between Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Peacebuilding (PB). This project was based on the premise that war, conflict and the legacies of colonisation weaken the social fabric that governs relationships and the capacity for recovery. In the aftermath, the causes of interpersonal conflict might still exist and may even have worsened as a result of violence during the conflict. The ability of individuals and societies to cope with such extraordinarily painful experiences and with the developed mistrust and fear is impressive but also limited. The breakdown of coping strategies is often related to the mistrust and fear caused by traumatic experiences, the compounding factor of exposure to different types of violence and the duration of the conflict. The work of MHPSS workers as well as peacebuilders to restore the social fabric that binds and supports people within their communities is essential for breaking cycles of violence and building sustainable peace. While it seems self-evident that these two fields would coordinate their efforts in order to enhance their impact, anecdotal evidence (IJR mapping study) points to the fact that the two fields work mostly in isolation from one another.
Thus far, IJR has conducted extensive desk research, hosted multiple meetings with practitioners and academics from both fields, and has formed a Reference Group consisting of independent members and representatives of 14 organisations from around the world and representing both disciplines, to ensure a broad and inclusive process underpins the way forward.
The purpose of this webinar was
- To unpack why an integrated approach is favorable (from the point of view of IJR and the Psychosocial Peacebuilding Reference Group)
- To present some of the key findings from the literature review, mapping and outreach conducted so far by IJR and its partners
- To engage participants on their own experiences and views related to the development of a more integrated approach between MHPSS and PB.
— To watch the webinar recording video, please click here.
About the Presenters:
Friederike Bubenzer is Senior Project Leader at the South African Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Over the last 10 years, she has worked with conflict-affected communities and governments in a number of African countries. She coordinates the MHPSS and PB project at IJR.
Marian Tankink, PhD, is a medical anthropologist. She is Editor in Chief of ‘Intervention, Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict-Affected Areas’. She worked as a freelance researcher and trainer for international organizations. Through the War Trauma Foundation, she worked with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation on how peacebuilding and MHPSS could be brought together. Currently, she works as consultant with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation on this project.
About the Moderator:
Marcio Gagliato is a psychologist, with extensive field experience responding to humanitarian emergencies. Since 2015, he has been a part of the MHPSS.net team, with lead responsibility for supporting ongoing humanitarian emergencies. In 2008 he was awarded a Human Rights fellowship from Columbia University (New York), and over the past decade he has worked with several organizations, including the ICRC (Gaza, Iran), IOM (Libya), the Center for the Victims of Torture (Zimbabwe), Save the Children (Brazil) and CARE (HQ and East Central Africa Region). He has completed various consultancies with IMC, Chemonics, UNICEF, WHO, CARE International, SOS Children’s Villages focusing on a wide range of MHPSS management programmatic areas, especially in emergencies and protracted crises field level.
We hope to see you in the Webinar room!
– the MHPSS.net Team –
