The MSCA Fellow designed the fellowship in five work packages to fully realise the project deliverables and milestones alongside a feasible career development plan over the fellowship period. The work packages include a) integration and project management, b) training and career development activities, c) survey and interview development and data collection, d) dissemination to academics, and e) outreach and communication with wider audiences.
Within the supportive environment at the host institution, the MSCA Fellow was able to implement a two-way transfer of knowledge. In line with the fellowship’s main goal of personal development, the MSCA Fellow attended 24 training programmes and 39 seminars and networking events. The training and knowledge acquired through the MSCA fellowship opened up new opportunities, networks and roles for the Fellow. Accordingly, the Fellow activated new academic networks that will yield connections to new publications/collaborations, assumed roles as contributor and advisory board member on various research projects, gained teaching experience in the UK and acted as mentor for both early-career researchers and potential MSCA fellows.
The researcher collected qualitative and quantitative data for YOUPEACEBUILDER that have provided an empirical foundation to compare youth’s perceptions and demands for a sustainable peace on the island. Using these data, the MSCA Fellow has presented research at six international and three local conferences, published two journal articles and an academic analysis (English, Turkish and Greek). He has two forthcoming book chapters, two journal manuscripts under review, and two journal manuscripts and four international conference presentations currently being prepared. The MSCA Fellow also signed a contract with a university press for book that will have a chapter devoted specifically to the YOUPEACEBUILDER topic. The Fellow also acted as a co-module leader for an online course called ‘Comparative Peace Processes’, which was designed for graduate students at the host institute. In order to reach and inform a wider audience, the fellow has been actively using numerous social media platforms with the hashtag #youpeacebuilder. The Fellow participated two Greek-Turkish Young Leaders Symposiums, which featured over 75 young people from Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, as a speaker and co-facilitator, and he wrote five op-ed pieces, two policy papers and a policy brief on prestigious platforms. As a result of these publications, the fellow was spotlighted and interviewed by several journalists and high-ranking officials in Turkey, Cyprus and the UK. In addition to his ongoing connections with local, youth-led organisations, the Fellow also contributed to local newspapers through interviews, op-eds and podcasts to raise the awareness of the youth-inclusive peace process based on interview and survey findings.
It is important to highlight that the data sets collected for YOUPEACEBUILDER will undoubtedly assist the researcher in developing new publications in the coming years in addition to the work already produced and published during the fellowship period.
