Helen Ware's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

A grandfather who went to gaol in England during World War One as a pacifist. Long experience of working in Africa starting at the end off the Nigerian Civil War.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

By profession I am a demographer. [One of the issues I am currently working on is mortality of the Indigenous population of Australia]. I have worked with the Australian Human Rights Commission; the Office of the Status of Women; AusAID [a government agency] as a diplomat in Southern Africa liaising with then then liberation movements and as a consultant with a wide range of UN agencies and NGOs.

I teach peace studies to undergraduate and post-graduate students mostly by distance and e-mode.
From our university (The University of New England) you can do a PHD in peace studies entirely by distance education mode wherever you live in the world. I also have a range of research students from Africa, Asia and the Pacific who are internal students here in Armidale.

I edited the New Internationalist's No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace and actually enjoy writing reports.

Compared with many who are active in the peace studies field, I would be towards the pragmatic end of the spectrum. I like to attach statistics to generalizations such as 'reconciliation almost always requires' or 'most people think'. I am co-ordinator for the network of academics teaching peace studies across Australia.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

I have worked as a consultant and or diplomat in 25 African countries.
I have two decades of experience working with the Pacific Island countries.
I have also worked more briefly with a number of Asian counties.

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

Australia

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Professor of Peace Studies University of New England

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://www.une.edu.au

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Peacebuilding, Development, Gender, Youth, Education, Health

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Training, Evaluation, Program Design, Research

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Peacebuilding in Bougainville
Youth unemployment in the Pacific
Comparisons of civil wars in Africa
Biafra
Genocide
Methods for teaching peace studies

If appropriate feel free to list several of your (or your organization's) publications

The No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace
New Internationalist 2006