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Arts-Based Adult Learning in Peacebuilding: A Potentially Significant Emerging Area for Development Practitioners?

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Abstract

Intractable conflict coupled with deep poverty often reinforce socio-psychological conflict-repertoires. Transforming repertoires can contribute to sustainable peace. Increasingly, development NGOs utilise arts-based programming to provide community spaces for exploring peace-oriented repertoires. Yet arts-based processes are poorly theorised in the development literature. We present a case-study arts-based peacebuilding programme embedded in intra-ethnic Rakhine asset-based community development (Myanmar). Arts-based components help build comprehension and retention of peace concepts, and motivation/confidence to apply new knowledge to daily interactions, supporting the overall aim of shifting conflict-repertoires. We show art-based activities as reflective learning processes produced modest-yet-significant shifts in repertoires, thereby contributing to sustainable peacebuilding.

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Notes

  1. We cannot name local partner-NGO, for security reasons.

  2. Cluster of approx.10-30 villages.

  3. Approximate number, due to minor attendance fluctuations between villages over 3-year programme.

  4. Focus group, June 2018, female.

  5. Collins Dictionary definition of object lesson: ‘a lesson in which a material object forms the basis of the teaching and is available to be inspected’. One example we utilised was a sweet-sorting exercise to demonstrate multiple identities any one sweet (i.e. person) can have. Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/object-lesson.

  6. Focus group, June 2018, male. This object lesson utilised a square drawn on the floor, and four teams—two teams holding the ends of each of two ropes, tied in the middle. They had to move their team to the opposite corner of the square without step** into it. To achieve this, the four teams had to cooperate to move around the square.

  7. Comment in arts artefact prepared by group, June 2017.

  8. Check-out-circle, December 2017.

  9. Focus group, June 2017, male.

  10. Focus group, June 2017, female.

  11. Focus group, December 2017, female.

  12. Focus group, December 2017, female.

  13. Check-in-circle, June 2017, male.

  14. Focus group, December 2017, female.

  15. Check-out-circle, June 2018, female.

  16. Focus group, December 2017, male.

  17. The term hook comes from popular music. It is a metaphor for defining features of popular songs, which when heard, helps listeners immediately identify the whole song. It may be a repeated chord sequence or rhythmic unit, for example.

  18. Check-in circle, December 2017, female.

  19. Focus group, June 2018, male.

  20. Check-in circle, October 2018, male.

  21. Focus group, June 2018, male.

  22. Focus group, June 2017, female. She did not explain story plot/purpose/meaning.

  23. Check-out circle, June 2017, male.

  24. Focus group, October 2018, male.

  25. Focus group, October 2018, female.

  26. Check-out-circle, June 2017, genders not recorded.

  27. An exercise from third workshop, which helped them list out many facets of their identities and begin drawing links to multi-faceted identities of other conflict parties.

  28. Focus group, June 2018, female.

  29. Check-out-circle, October 2018, female.

  30. Focus group, June 2018, male.

  31. Check-out-circle, June 2018, gender not noted.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate initial feedback from Ware’s writing group colleagues and feedback from two blind reviewers. Generous insights from each individual helped to refine our broad preliminary ideas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    Vicki-Ann Ware & Shannon Harmer McSolvin

  2. SonicBloom, Yangon, Myanmar

    Joanne Lauterjung

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  1. Vicki-Ann Ware
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Correspondence to Vicki-Ann Ware.

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Ware, VA., Lauterjung, J. & Harmer McSolvin, S. Arts-Based Adult Learning in Peacebuilding: A Potentially Significant Emerging Area for Development Practitioners?. Eur J Dev Res 34, 1050–1075 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00416-x

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