Dr Melis Cin has been awarded a new Arts and Humanities Research Council project, Embedding and Enabling Creative Economy in Marginalised Societies: Creative Skills for Peace, to enhance human resource capacity through upskilling young artists for sustainable peace economy. The new project will be conducted in collaboration with the Open University – UK (Parvati Raghuram), University of South Africa (Ashley Gunter) and the Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (Tendayi Marovah).

The African Union and UN International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021 highlight the importance of promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth through providing opportunities, benefits and empowerment for all, promoting networking and sharing best practices and experiences.

Embedding cultural heritage and local art into creative economy through skilling can create sustainable peace economies that potentially reduce the structural inequalities arising from the (pre-)conflict and improve the livelihoods of people. The research team have come together with new partners from the creative industries and artists in the UK and Africa to explore how such an enabling environment can be created.

This 15-month project focuses on exploring and creating sustainable local peace economies and the ways in which this could be integrated in teaching of peace by embedding creative, soft and entrepreneurial skills and training for peace and sustainable development and enabling the reach of these communities and youth among new stakeholders, artists and cultural, creative and heritage organisations nationally, regionally (Southern Africa) and internationally (Southern Africa – UK) through networking. The project also aims to leave a legacy by developing and depositing lasting educational materials for future young people to unlock the economic potential of tangible and intangible heritages.

Dr Cin said: “In the absence of key skills that could foster and maintain local economies, the initiatives for empowerment and well-being of communities will be a rhetorical endeavour. This project builds on our earlier work and engagement with marginalised communities in conflict. We will be working with leading artists in South Africa, UK and Zimbabwe to upskill young artists to support the socio-economic aspects of peace by embedding the local cultural and heritage resources in creative economies and use these resources in identifying and planning locally relevant, economic and contextual solutions to the development challenges the communities face.”