International collaboration elevates Peace and Conflict Studies

Posted date: 03 Feb 2020

The appointment to the Rotary Peace Center has raised Uppsala University’s already attractive master’s programme in Peace and Conflict Studies to the very highest level. In January master’s student Afaf Doleeb received the Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize for her involvement in Sudan’s democratic development.

Afaf Doleeb, a master’s student in Peace and Conflict Studies, has been awarded the Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize, Uppsala University’s top honour for efforts to promote human rights and freedoms. The explanatory statement emphasises Afaf Doleeb’s great commitment to the peaceful protest movement, which was crucial for Sudan’s democratic development towards rule based on human rights. Doleeb is currently one of 18 Rotary Peace Scholars based in Uppsala, and during her time with the programme, she has played a key role in the formation of a Facebook group that monitors the Sudanese government’s compliance with the agreements it has entered into.
In 2011 Rotary International named Uppsala University the world’s sixth international Peace Center. The appointment, which was obtained in competition with several of the world’s highest-ranking universities, means that each year about 10 scholarship holders from around the world begin Uppsala’s highly selective Master Programme in Peace and Conflict Studies. The number of applicants per scholarship is high, and the selection process meticulous.

During their two years at Uppsala Rotary Peace Center, the scholarship holders also participate in activities in addition to the regular schedule. These include an Applied Field Experience held in the summer months after the first year of study. Each scholarship holder then participates in peace-promoting activities anywhere in the world based on a self-formulated project plan. In addition to a valuable contribution, it provides an opportunity for each participant to make contacts and to specialise in preparation for their future career.

Among the scholarship holders who have already obtained their 120-credit master’s degree at Uppsala University, many have chosen to work in non-governmental peace-building organisations, several of them working close to conflict areas. Others have chosen to build on their academic qualifications, including a couple who have returned to Uppsala for doctoral studies at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research.

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