Dr Melis Cin has received an AHRC Global Challenges Research Fund Network Grant to focus on arts and peacebuilding between Forcefully displaced populations and Host community youth across three contexts: South Africa, Turkey and Uganda, which are among the largest refugee-receiving and hosting countries.

The number of young Forcefully Displaced Persons (FDPs) is rapidly increasing. In 2016, the global refugee population was 65.6 million (UNHCR 2017). At a time of anti-refugee sentiment in industrialised countries, Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) countries are hosting 84% of FDPs despite prevailing economic, environmental, social and, at times, political difficulties, and the greatest burden of the global refugee crisis is falling on those who can afford it least (UNHCR 2017). These countries perform a global public good by accepting FDPs, but struggle to meet the costs associated with the influx of FDPs. This places a burden on their economies making it difficult to meet the basic needs of both citizens and FDPs (World Economic Forum 2017). The economic and social integration of FDPs also creates compounding tensions when equally impoverished citizens compete with FDPs for aid, scarce resources and limited number of jobs.

The project aims to push forward a new research and impact agenda and conduct a pilot research in each country, exploring how the escalating tensions in LMICs between young FDPs and host communities can be addressed through use of photographs as an intercultural learning tool and photography as an informal learning methodology to understand the everyday inequalities in shared public spaces between FDPs and host communities.

Evidence gained from this project aims to propose an arts-based methodology for conflict-management and explore the potential peacebuilding between FDPs and host communities through photography training and using photographs as educational artefacts to gain local and cultural knowledge. The project will contribute to formation of a creative space for expression of identities and encourage refugees to become part of the arts and culture scene. The team will produce series of journal articles, policy reports and hold exhibition of refugee photography in the UK, Turkey, South Africa and Uganda.

Melis Cin is a Lecturer in Education and Social Justice. She teaches on the Department of Educational Research’s MA in Education and Social Justice and PhD in Education and Social Justice.