Irish humanitarian honoured through scholarships
Posted: 21 June, 2017
The recipients of the 2016 and 2017 Andrew Grene Postgraduate Scholarships in Conflict Resolution were celebrated this morning at an award ceremony in the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The scholarship, administered by the Irish Research Council and first established in 2008, was named in honour of Irish United Nations staff member, Andrew Grene, following his tragic death in the Haiti earthquake of 2010.
The scholarship fund has enabled a wide range of postgraduate research on conflict resolution, post-conflict reconciliation, as well as the impact of gender, governance and education on building peace. The Conflict Resolution Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has supported 11 postgraduate researchers since 2008, to a total value of over €760,000.
The 2016 Andrew Grene Scholar in Conflict Resolution is Chiara Mizzoni, of the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin. Her research explores gender mainstreaming practices and reintegration outcomes within Colombia’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Programmes.
The recently awarded 2017 scholar is Andrea Salvi, also of Trinity College Dublin, a student in the Department of Political Sciences. He is seeking to explain the triggers associated with the diffusion of civil war into neighbouring states.
Commenting on the awards, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Simon Coveney said: “I am delighted to support postgraduate research in this area. The work of all of the alumni of this scholarship and the 2016 and 2017 scholars, Chiara Mizzoni and Andrea Salvi, will boost the evidence base for sustaining and building peace. Sharing our own experience of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland is one of our foreign policy priorities”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a Strategic Funding Partner on the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. Mr Peter Brown, Interim Director of the Irish Research Council, said: “We are honoured to have the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a partner on our Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. Since this partnership began, it has supported the development of excellent early-stage researchers studying different aspects of conflict resolution. Through initiatives such as this, Ireland continues to add to new knowledge and perspectives, and contributes to the international dialogue on peace and reconciliation processes’’.
