Community-based approaches are crucial to violence prevention strategies. As the main people impacted by violence, and with the best knowledge about their neighborhoods’ dynamics, vulnerabilities, and existing resources, community members are central to efforts to prevent and reduce urban violence. As part of the solution, they work to address root causes of violence, complement the work done by security forces—especially when these are ineffective or not trusted by residents, promote social cohesion, provide legitimacy and empowerment, and ultimately ensure the sustainability of interventions.
Among the most prominent examples of effective community-based approaches are violence interruption and conflict mediation. In this webinar, we will hear directly from the Fundación Alvaralice team of Cali, Colombia, on the key concepts around their interruption and mediation model, and about the challenges and evolution of the methodology throughout time. Foro Regional Rosario will speak about its interest and potential for replicability in Rosario, Argentina, and lessons learned from the training. Finally, Dignity Practices, a new PiOC partner from the U.S., will also share insights related to the presentation and discussion, and present its experience with a recently created Mediation Unit in the city of Dayton, Ohio.