PeaceRep has been recognised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy for science and letters, for its pivotal role in networking peace and conflict organisations and supporting the establishment of digital peace processes.
The PeaceRep team has been awarded the RSE Mary Somerville Medal, which recognises exceptional achievement in research in teamwork and collaborative endeavour within Scottish Higher Education Institutes (HEI), between Scottish HEI and other institutions/businesses, and within other institutions, nationally and internationally.
PeaceRep awarded Royal Society of Edinburgh medal for collaborative endeavour
In the medal citation, the RSE commended PeaceRep for its collaborative work.
“RSE/Mary Somerville Medal is awarded to the PeaceRep Team, who is represented by Scottish researchers and international collaborators conducting research, policy and impact work on peace and conflict studies at both the local and the global scales. The team has played a pivotal role in networking peace and conflict organisations across Scotland and Northern England, and in supporting the establishment of digital peace processes, including in Yemen.”
This year’s medallists have been awarded under the revised RSE Medal programme, which honours eminent women and their significant input to the sciences, arts, and letters in Scotland.
PeaceRep’s Executive Director Prof Christine Bell said,
“At a time when the world seems perilously engaged in war, this medal affirms the importance of continual peacemaking in dark and dangerous moments. Our team at the University of Edinburgh – many of whom started their careers with this project – has been privileged to work as part of a wider team of groups in Scotland, but also including local peacebuilders in contexts as varied as Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Iraq and Yemen. The award of the medal will encourage us, and we hope others, to continue to explore how new technologies can be used to harness innovation in research and practice. We are honoured to accept it, and in turn pay our tribute to those we work with who are struggling to address the violent conflicts in which they live.”
High attainment in earth and environmental sciences, and teamwork and collaborative endeavour – previously unrepresented sectors – are now recognised in the newly created medals.
A second recipient of the Mary Somerville Medal is the EAVE II team, also based at the University of Edinburgh. EAVE II was recognised for the team’s contributions to the Scottish and UK governments’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, informed by findings drawn from from a purpose-built rich data platform. Tracking the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through data has also been utilised by PeaceRep in creating the Covid-19 Ceasefires Tracker.
About PeaceRep
PeaceRep is a consortium of research and non-governmental institutions led by the University of Edinburgh Law School. We are a team of 50+ researchers, mediation practitioners, lawyers, data scientists, managers, and communications professionals dedicated to reimagining peace and transition processes in changing conflict contexts. We work on interdisciplinary research on peace and transition processes, innovative ‘PeaceTech’ and data, and peace process design and support across the Middle East, East and North Africa, and Asia.
Consortium members include Conciliation Resources, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University, Dialectiq, Edinburgh Law School, International IDEA, LSE Conflict and Civicness Research Group, LSE Middle East Centre, Queens University Belfast, University of St Andrews, University of Stirling, and the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University.
PeaceRep is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and has received funding for PeaceTech innovations such as the PeaceFem app from UN Women, the University of Edinburgh’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Grant, and MSCA Train@ED Horizon 2020.
Explore PeaceRep’s key research findings, data and digital tools, and publications.
Read more about PeaceRep consortium members.
