Sep 19How to find evidence of divisive behavior on social mediaHelena Puig Larrauri proposes a practical framework for mediators and peacebuilders to identify divisive behaviors observable on social media that are most relevant to their work. One of the main reasons mediators and peacebuilders are interested in social media analysis is to understand whether there is evidence of divisive behavior…Social Media5 min readSocial Media5 min read
Jul 20Build Peace Turns 10: The conference through the yearsIt has been ten incredible years of advancing peace through technical and creative innovation. As we approach the tenth annual Build Peace conference, let’s reflect on the evolution of this unique gathering and revisit some of the impactful memories from along the way. Build Peace is a global conference series…4 min read4 min read
Jun 29Keeping the digital peace: Insights from RightsCon 2023This piece is co-published by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), Build Up and Protection Group International (PGI). — Social media’s harmful role in conflict is ever more apparent. From disinformation to influence operations and coordinated inauthentic behaviour, malign actors have a wealth of digital weapons at their disposal. Their tactics are growing in sophistication. Mediators must be equipped not only to mitigate these risks but to monitor them…4 min read4 min read
May 25Digital Peacebuilding and Intersectional FeminismThe concept of intersectionality — the interconnected and overlapping nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender, ability, age, and sexuality — has been essential to understand the realities of discrimination and social inequality. As legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw puts it: “If we aren’t intersectional, some of us, the…5 min read5 min read
Apr 28Build Up is a collective. What does that mean?In a nutshell: the core team shares organizational and financial ownership, operation, and risk together. This is how we do it. Build Up’s organizational model is grounded in a worldview and principles that match our vision as a collective for creating the world we want to live in. We’ve decided…Collective5 min readCollective5 min read
Apr 12Let’s ask better questionsby Julie Hawke — The move from theoretical to strategic and operational questions is the next step needed in our field’s conversations about digital technology and peacebuilding. On March 15th, we were invited to present at a UN DPPA hosted panel on Digital Technologies for Women’s Inclusion, a side event to the 67th Commission…Digital Peacebuilding4 min readDigital Peacebuilding4 min read
Mar 16Societal divides as a taxable negative externality of digital platformsAn exploration of the rationale for regulating algorithmically mediated platforms differently, by Helena Puig Larrauri Talk to any peacebuilder trying to disseminate an alternative, complex narrative about a conflict, and they’ll tell you a version of the same thing: the odds are stacked against peace on social media platforms. It’s…5 min read5 min read
Mar 15How we organizeA manifesto for challenging the power dynamics that dictate where money flows and how priorities are set in the peacebuilding & conflict transformation field. Back in November 2022, Build Up invited a small group of peacebuilding & conflict transformation organizations to a conversation about power. Aside from working in the…Peacebuilding3 min readPeacebuilding3 min read
Dec 5, 2022Unseen RisksA reflection following the Build Peace conference in Chemnitz Build Peace 2022 took place in Chemnitz, a city in Eastern Germany marked by a recent history of racial violence, a longer history of collective trauma from political and economic neglect after the fall of the Berlin Wall — and a…Peacebuilding7 min readPeacebuilding7 min read
Dec 5, 2022Stories of the Unseena compilation of moments from Build Peace 2022 by Rita Costa Cots What do you do when Build Peace is over? This was the first time that I attended a Build Peace conference in-person. When it was over, I found myself lost in between a head full of questions and…Peacebuilding11 min readPeacebuilding11 min read
