Kick-Off Meeting of the Project “Children Born of War – Past, Present and Future” in Birmingham

The Advanced Social and Political Research Institute, Faculty of Social Sciences is a beneficiary of this project. The University of Latvia (UL) was represented by professor Vita Zelče and early stage researcher Oskars Gruziņš. The interdisciplinary project “Children Born of War – Past, Present and Future” is tasked to create awareness of the impact of 20th and 21st century wars and military conflicts on children's lives, especially for those children born as a result of conflict. The project is to raise awareness and find insights on how “children born of war” are (or are not) integrated into society; how the military, government and non-governmental organizations are involved in their integration, and how these policies on “children born of war” affect lives, memories, societal norms and beliefs. Within the project, fourteen researchers from a number of Universities from the European Union will learn new research skills and devote their dissertations to “children born of war.” The project “Children Born of War – Past, Present and Future” is coordinated by the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), and has participants from the University of Leipzig (Germany), University of Augsburg (Germany), University of Rouen (France), University of Latvia, University of Slaski Katowice (Poland), University of Klaipeda (Lithuania), University of Greifswald (Germany), University of Usti Nad Labem (Czech Republic), the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences (Austria), Psychotrauma Centre South Netherlands (the Netherlands) and Utrecht University (Netherlands). The project partners are – GESIS Leibniz Institute of Social Sciences (Germany), ICON Institute (Germany), studio “Interperform” (Germany), Facilitation for Peace and Development (Uganda), the BBC (United Kingdom) and the Russian State University for the Humanities (Russia). The project “Children Born of War – Past, Present and Future” is within the EU framework program "Horizon 2020." Researcher Oskars Gruziņš, from the UL Faculty of Social Sciences, has begun his work on the project. His research theme is "My Father Wore an Occupier's Uniform: Experiences of Children Born of German and Soviet Soldiers in Latvia." The study will be based on archival materials, literature studies, as well as oral history approaches. The kick-off meeting, hosted by Birmingham University, discussed the progress of the project plan, the ethical issues involved in the study, training courses, internships at partner organizations, universities and young researchers' rights and obligations, the dissemination of knowledge, project management and other issues. After the meeting, researcher Oskars Gruziņš summed up his first impressions of the project: “After these days spent familiarizing ourselves with this highly important and ambitious work plan, I can say that I am proud to be a part of a project of such magnitude. This project has the potential to influence future policy, psychiatry and sociology for years to come. I am honored to contribute the experience of Latvia, in a project that aspires to develop something positive from our nation’s darker pages of history.” The next joint operational meeting of the project will be dedicated to research methods. A course on the topic will be held at the Ludwig Boltzmann Research Institute for Research on War Consequences in Graz in February of next year.