Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post-conflict context

Abstract: This study aims at researching how a sustainable culture of peace can be built through civic engagement in the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context. It does so by learning from locally based NGOs, working for a culture of peace in areas affected by the Abkhaz-Georgian armed conflict which occurred 1993 to 1994. The studied NGOs work for different components within a Culture of Peace such as; women’s rights, peace building, social and economic development, democratic participation and human rights. In order to answer the research question following sub questions are answered: •What can we learn from the experiences of the studied organizations’ participatory communication for social change? •How has the culture of communication in the Abkhaz-Georgian post conflict context been affecting the participatory communication for social change for the different organizations?The method to collect data to the research has been through a field study in Abkhazia and outside its border on the Georgian side, in the city Zugdidi which is the closest city to the Abkhazian border. Participatory observations and interviews with representatives from the different organizations working for a culture of peace were conducted during two and a half months. The theoretical framework used for the study consists of three theories. The first is the theory of “Culture of Peace”, used to analyze how the studied NGOs are working for a culture of peace. The second is the theory “participatory communication for social change” which is used to analyze the work of the studied organizations in order to know how they work for sustainable civic engagement. Lastly, the theory used to look at how the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context is affecting the communication, is the theory “culture of communication”. The findings of the research present solutions of how to practice participatory communication to build a culture of peace in a post-conflict context. However, the research also discovers how certain public values and views in a post-conflict context can hinder effective work through participatory communication as well as ways of overcoming these challenges.