ASPIRE attending DSA conference 2024
ASPIRE will be attending the Development Studies Association (DSA2024), taking place as a hybrid conference hosted by SOAS University of London, from the 26th to the 28th of June 2024.
Re-directing attention towards self-protection, peace and influence
As part of the Aspiring for Peace and Inclusion Research (ASPIRE) our paper entitled ‘Redirecting attention towards refugees’ endeavours’, has been accepted to the Development Studies Association conference in 2024 (DSA2024). The paper is co-authored by ASPIRE Research Assistant and resident in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Lokolo Martin.
The paper examines cross-cutting issues of humanitarian protection, participation and peace based on ethnographic data from a refugee settlement in Uganda, between 2018 and 2024. On the one hand, the findings feed into the growing body of literature on the effect of the colonality inherent in humanitarian action. On the other hand, they suggest a way forward by re-directing attention to what refugees are doing – their actions towards self-protection, peace and influence: their ‘endeavours’.
The theme of this year's conference ‘Social justice and development in a polarising world’, sheds light on social justice as a fundamental element to global development priorities, reflecting on the need for re-thinking humanitarian action and de-centering development strategies.