The research initiatives followed a call for projects offering alumni of the JWL Peace Leadership program the chance to develop and conduct their own community based research project. They will be accompanied by a "meta-research" project on "transformative research" run by Isabella Rega, JWL Reserach Director, and Prof. Barbara Schellhammer, IST.
Project 1: Exploring practical examples of "servant leadership" in Afghan communities (Injil district)
Although servant leadership is a newly emerging concept, the communities have probably been practicing its implications for a very long time (Boyum, 2008). In fact, the term is coined via referencing to practical examples of such a style of leadership and its actual repercussions for the communities (ibd, p 8). Thus, the concept of servant leadership needs to be examined in different historical, social and cultural discourses to flourish contextually. Despite the fact that there are many papers studying servant leadership in a variety of circumstances (Golzar & Miri, 2020), there is a far knowledge gap regarding the concept applicability particularly when it is related to developing communities suffering from war/violence culture(s) such as Afghanistan.
Afghan Research Team:
Aufgrund der derzeitigen Sicherheitslage in Afghanistan mussten wir das Bild und die Namen der Forscher*innen leider entfernen - die prekäre und gefährliche Situation in Afghanistan zeugt von der Bedeutung ihres Projekts.
Project 2: The impact of Stereotypes among young Syrian refugees and their Iraqi host peers for integration
Through intensive focus group discussions and interactive theatres with students at the University of Dohuk (Kurdistan, Iraq) we want to research the impact of stereotypes, particulalry for the intergration of Syrian refugees. At the same time, we seek to create a space for Syrian and Iraqi students to share their experiences and to foster mutual understanding of the potential harm of stereotyping. We ask: Where can we observe stereotypes? How does communication affect stereotypes? What are the main drivers of stereotypes? How can we break stereotypes for people to meet as they are?
Iraqi Research Team:
Jehan Omar, Mustafa Abdalla and Shaveen Khalil