An international peace and reconciliation expert will be giving a lecture at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus next week. 

Dr Wendy Lambourne a senior lecturer and academic co-ordinator of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney will be delivering a paper on Transformative Justice, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding After Mass Violence on Tuesday 25 May at 2pm. 

She is based jointly at the University’s Transitional Justice Institute and INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute) for the week. 

She said: “This paper uses lessons from practical experience and theories of peacebuilding, reconciliation and transitional justice to develop a model of transformative justice that supports sustainable peacebuilding after mass violence. 

“The model is holistic and transdisciplinary and proposes a focus on civil society participation in the design and implementation of transitional justice mechanisms such as criminal tribunals and truth commissions. 

“The development of this model is informed by field research conducted in Cambodia, Rwanda, East Timor and Sierra Leone on the views and experiences of local populations directly affected by the violence and who are most intimately involved in peacebuilding.”    

Professor Christine Bell, Associate Director of TJI, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Lambourne to Magee.  Given growing demands for accountability for conflict, seen most recently in Sri Lanka, Dr Lambourne’s lecture on transformative justice is particularly timely and will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and practitioners.   

“Her insights from settings as diverse as Cambodia to Sierra Leone, are useful to developing a model of transformative justice applicable in a wide range of contexts, including Northern Ireland.” 

Professor Brandon Hamber, Director of INCORE, said: “Dr Lambourne’s visit to TJI and INCORE demonstrates the ongoing interest in the conflict work being undertaken on the Magee Campus.

"The university continues to attract high calibre scholars from around the world and sharing international lessons remains of critical importance to the peace process in Northern Ireland and other countries.”   

Dr Lambourne who is based in Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, has worked in peace centres across the world including the International Center for Transitional Justice in Cape Town, South Africa and the Center for Peace Research and Strategic Studies at Katholieke University Leuven in Belgium. 

Anyone wishing to attend the lecture should contact e.carlin@ulster.ac.uk.