LPP Films
Linking Practice to Policy - practical responses to conflict
The Linking Practice to Policy documentaries were produced by RTC between 1998 and 2002. The films were produced with funding from Comic Relief and the Samuel Rubin Foundation, and in partnership with the Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA). They have been widely used as educational tools by a range of agencies, training providers and not-for-profit organisations.
The case studies demonstrate how peacebuilders in four African states (Kenya, Somaliland, South Africa and Uganda) have been able to work with and transform conflict, and how policy can be developed from these methods. These films provide an opportunity for peacebuilders throughout the world to take lessons from each region and apply them to their own situations. Each video is free for you to watch online and download via our website.
The Wajir story
The Wajir story explores conflict in Kenya's Wajir district. In this documentary we look at how conflict over issues such as land ownership and political representation resulted in violent outbreaks that included theft, rape and murder. The video looks at the response of the local community to the conflict, how they helped to stop the violence and how they began to work towards a more peaceful future.Gulu: The struggle for peace
This video tells the story of the conflicts in Gulu and Kitgum Districts in Northern Uganda. The conflicts are between the Ugandan Government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), but the Acholi people, who live in the area, have been caught in the middle and suffer at the hands of both sides. It is against this background that a range of organisations have embarked on a series of peacebuilding initiatives in the local community.
Pulling together: Community policing in a new South Africa
Pulling together is about the transition of South Africa from oppressive white minority rule under apartheid to that of democracy and political freedom. It shows former enemies coming together and reconciling their differences in Daveyton, a small urban community on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, where they hope to piece together a complete picture of the apartheid era.
Only through dialogue: The Somali way to peace
Only through dialogue looks at the peace process that occurred in Somaliland after its split from Somalia in the 1990s. The split followed a violent civil war that left the infrastructure and economy devastated, with tremendous damage to hospitals, schools and factories. This resulted in numerous clan wars between those vying for power. In order to bring an end to these conflicts the people of Somaliland revived a traditional Somali peace process to reach an agreement.
Practice to policy: Making the connections
Practice to policy looks at conflicts in four African states: Kenya, Somalia, South Africa and Uganda. It looks at how community peace practitioners can have a dramatic effect on peacebuilding and addresses the gap that often exists between practitioners and policy makers. This video shows how grassroots views can be incorporated into peacebuilding policies in a practical way in each of the four conflicts examined.
More about: Linking Practice to Policy
RTC began the Linking Practice to Policy project in 1998 in partnership with the Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA).
The project arose out of both organisations experiences of working on conflict throughout the continent. We had become aware that a gap existed between the wide range of practical initiatives being undertaken to address conflicts in Africa and the policies which were implemented by many organisations, both governmental and non-governmental.
The efforts of grassroots peace initiatives often went unrecognised by policy makers, who often seemed to be unaware of the conflict implications of their policies as well as the opportunities offered by knowledge of good practice on conflict.
The overall aim of LPP was "to develop and publicise methods of conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and to influence the policies of organisations and governments in critical areas of Africa".
LPP began with the production of a series of videos which documented four examples of peacebuilding in Africa. In Wajir (Kenya), Gulu (Uganda), Daveytown (South Africa) and Somaliland. These videos have been widely distributed throughout Africa and the rest of the world. The videos were designed to be a resource for encouraging discussion around a variety of issues.
As well as being used in training courses they have also been shown at the Africa Peace Forum in Kenya and at IGAD meetings in Ethiopia and Sudan where they were used as a resource for discussions of government policy towards pastoralist communities, and the role of women in peace building.
Follow up work took place with each of the communities involved in the videos in the form of learning workshops and exchange visits. The workshops and visits enabled communities to reflect on what they had achieved, to find out about different approaches and techniques that had been employed in other situations, and to develop strategy for future work.