Behind every weapon there is a person involved who controls it, and in front of the weapon will most likely be a civilian who will be injured or killed by it. Finding solutions to violence from small arms and light weapons is a must, but it is also a duty to respond to the […]

AOAV: Concretely, what do you do at Valle University? Dr. Carlos Andres Fandino: One of our current projects looks into information systems and the collection of data on violence and victims of violence. We also research homicides and other kinds of deaths from different types of violence, while another project is related to indicators of violence. […]

One of the most exciting technological developments in armed violence reduction may be the ability to predict and forecast where future violence will occur. But how are these predictions derived and exactly how useful are they? The future is a Tom Cruise science fiction film In the film Minority Report, based on a short story […]

Using our recent Top 100 lists as a starting point (The 100 most influential people in armed violence reduction and 100 of the most influential journalists), AOAV has compiled a handy list of notable Twitter accounts sharing interesting stories, research and analyses surrounding armed violence and armed violence reduction. Please support the members of this list: follow […]

AOAV: What does the Peace and Democracy Corporation do? Ivan Darío Ramírez: We have an observatory in Medellín, Colombia, that looks at the impacts that violence and conflict have upon the population. We publish reports, document cases and we also do political incidence with the local government in order for them to assume their own responsibilities […]

Renato Sérgio de Lima has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of São Paulo and took his Post-Doctorate at the Institute of Economics at UNICAMP, also in São Paulo. He is the Secretary General of the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety and Editor of the Brazilian Journal on Public Safety.  AOAV: What is the Brazilian […]

Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa is a General-Director of the Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention. He has an extensive experience on social research and has conducted several researches including Conflict Analysis in Sool and Sanaag regions of Somalia (for CARE International) and Social Action Research on Drought and Climate Change in Somaliland (for ActionAid International). AOAV: What […]

Despite common perceptions of high rates of crime and violence, West Point is a vibrant community. There are active intellectual forums that foster conversations about the direction of politics in Liberia. Women’s groups support small business through susu agreements. And young people take leadership positions to improve the quality if living in their community.  There […]

Melina Risso, Director of the Instituto Sou da Paz, explains the organisation’s efforts in reducing armed violence in Brazil, particularly by strengthening the country’s approach towards gun control. What is the Instituto Sou da Paz? The Instituto Sou da Paz is a Non Government Organization with headquarters in São Paulo, that for over 10 years has […]

Wim Zwijnenburg, Policy Advisor for Security & Disarmament at IKV Pax Christi, explains the Dutch civil society organisation’s role in armed violence reduction. What is IKV Pax Christi? IKV Pax Christi has a sixty-year history in peace work. In 2007 it combined the strengths of the Dutch Interchurch Peace Council (IKV, 1966) and Pax Christi Netherlands (1948, a member of […]

Julie Claveau joined AOAV in June 2013 and specialises in peace-building in Burundi. She previously worked with Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo implementing armed violence reduction and humanitarian mine action projects. In a nutshell, what’s your job? I’ll be supervising and growing the programme in Burundi. Currently, we have two branches […]

We’ve met Hamit Dardagan, Co-Director of Oxford Research Group’s Every Casualty programme, who told us why casualty recording is so crucial in armed violence reduction. Who is Hamit Dardagan? Hamit Dardagan is Co-Director of Oxford Research Group’s Every Casualty programme. Hamit became ORG’s Consultant on Civilian Casualties in War in 2007. With John Sloboda, he now co-directs […]