General news 2006

The CARG meets at Sussex

The Central Advisory Review Group of the Citizenship DRC met on November 6 th at the University of Sussex. Research theme convenors, Steve Abah (Nigeria), Bettina von Lieres (South Africa), and John Gaventa, (UK) presented the research topic areas and the communication and monitoring and evaluation strategies were also discussed. The CARG, chaired by Fiona Wilson, University of Roskilde, Denmark, provided critical feedback and discussed their role in the future.

Participatory video and research workshop

The Citizenship DRC and the Theatre for Development Centre at Ahmadu Bello University , Nigeria organised a training with DRC researchers to explore combining participatory action research with participatory video. The workshop, facilitated by Insight, took place in Kaduna , Northern Nigeria between 16th – 28th October 2006. Sixteen people from Nigeria , Brazil , Bangladesh , Mexico , Angola , Jamaica and the UK took part and Laura Cornish from IDS assisted with documenting the event.

On their return, four participants - Joanna Wheeler , Renata Bernardes , Ixchel Carrasco Arias and Sameer Ahmed - held an seminar at IDS to discuss their experiences of PV and show video footage of the training. Participants will now use participatory video techniques in their field research. The DRC coordination team is supporting them to document their experiences of using this as a participatory research tool and share this learning within the DRC network and externally.

Globalisation researchers meet

Researchers working on the citizen engagement in a globalising world theme met at the Institute of Development Studies, during 25-26 September 2006 to discuss their forthcoming work. Researchers working on 8 different projects across India , South Africa , Brazil , Nigeria , Gambia , Kenya , Argentina , and the UK discussed a theoretical framework upon which their research will be based. The group agreed that the main question they would be attempting to answer is: what global meanings of citizenship are evolving (or being constrained) as citizen engagement with the globalising world happens?

Deepening Democracy in States and Localities workshop, May 31- 2 June 2006, Brazil

Researchers working on the ‘Deepening democracy in states and localities’ theme of the new DRC programme, met at Barra do Sahy in Brazil from May 31 to June 2, 2006. The meeting was convened by Vera Schattan Coelho and Bettina von Lieres. The group discussed theoretical and methodological issues, the questions they want to address and explored cross-country comparative research projects.

The 'Deepening Democracy' group are exploring experiences of democracy in countries in the South including Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Researchers are asking challenging questions such as: How do new patterns of mobilisation interact with democratic institutions to strengthen people’s ability to express their agendas and negotiate, so that the state is more responsive to their demands?

Researchers will be conducting field work in their respective countries, developing comparative cross-country research projects and using communication processes throughout their research to engage local, national and international stakeholders.

Violence, Participation and Citizenship Workshop, 2-7 April 2006, Bradford and Hebden Bridge, UK

Researchers from Jamaica, Nigeria, Mexico and the UK came together for a week long workshop in Bradford, UK to discuss their proposed research on the theme of violence, participation and citizenship. Hosted by the Peace Studies Centre at the University of Bradford, the meeting aimed to build synergies between each research project, focusing on theory, participatory methodologies, communication and potential outcomes. The work was put into context with field visits and tours by local community members on Scholemore Estate and in Manningham, Bradford.

Steering Committe Meeting, 6-10 February 2006, South Africa

The aim of this meeting was to make crucial decisions on the research proposals and the governance of the Citizenship DRC on this new round. In addition, the Citizenship DRC South African partners organised a two day field trip so as to build a better understanding of their work.