On 2 February, SIPRI and its partners launched the Research & Action for Peace (REcAP) Network. The REcAP Network is a collaboration between SIPRI, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, the Danish Refugee Council, and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Senegal. The launch event took place both online and in person in Dakar, Senegal.
The REcAP Network seeks to strengthen the role of civil society in effective peacebuilding. It aims to establish an interactive platform for regional cooperation in order to prevent conflicts and violent extremism in West Africa and the Lake Chad region. The platform will facilitate dialogue among existing expert networks, researchers, think tanks, civil society organizations, regional organizations and governments. The project is funded by the EU and implemented in 18 countries in West Africa and the Lake Chad region.
The launch event brought together over 60 participants across the region including members of the REcAP Network project consortium, representatives of the Delegation of the EU to Senegal, members of the REcAP Network representing research-oriented organizations, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and the international community, such as the Economic Community of West African States.
Luc van de Goor, SIPRI Director of Studies, moderated a panel discussion on the current state of research opportunities on conflict prevention, violent extremism, and peacebuilding in West Africa and the Lake Chad region. During the discussion, panellists and audience members focused on the current challenges in research and proposed ways to address these gaps.
According to van de Goor, ‘Our strategy is to collaborate and cooperate more, and exchange more knowledge and expertise to achieve our vision and mission. Therefore, SIPRI is honoured to be a member of the Research & Action for Peace Network, and we look forward to contributing to this interactive platform for regional cooperation with the aim to foster learning and production of knowledge on conflict prevention, the prevention of violent extremism and ultimately, of course, peacebuilding.’
For more information about the network, follow @REcAP_Network on Twitter.
