Call for Proposals – Meeting to bring together academics and implementers

The Center for Global Nonkilling is happy to announce that this year, the World Health Organization Violence Prevention Alliance (http://www.who.int/violenceprevention) will be holding its first Annual Academic Meeting alongside the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention 7th Milestones Meeting in Geneva.  The side event will be held on the day before the two-day Meeting, on Monday, September 21, 2015, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Participants will also be able to register to attend the Milestones Meeting after the event.

The theme – “Merging Evidence and Implementation” – invites proposals from academics, practitioners, and policymakers alike, in the spirit of the VPA and the Milestones Meeting, bringing together different sectors invested in violence prevention.  The academic framework will allow for these different sectors to come into conversation, in a series of roundtables and townhall meetings.  We hope that the unique setting will allow for fruitful exchange: implementers can hear about research in plain language, and academics can find ways to better meet the needs of practice.

Eventually, the goal of this event is to establish a dialogue among academics, implementers, researchers, and practitioners, in order to encourage more collaborative projects, such as partnerships to help disseminate knowledge or to document work in the field.

Submission deadline – a 200- to 300-word proposal is requested by Wednesday, April 15, 2015, and should be submitted via email: bandy.lee@yale.edu.  The format is either: (a) roundtables, with a selection of 3-4 presenters to speak for 10 minutes, after which a general discussion will ensue; or (b) poster presentations.  Themes of the roundtables will be determined by the accepted proposals, although all topics related to violence prevention are welcome (e.g., description of a problem or intervention, areas of research, recent policy initiatives, etc.).

Notification – All presenters will be notified via email of their proposal status by Friday, May 15, 2015.

Registration and Membership – You do not have to be a Violence Prevention Alliance member to submit a proposal or to attend as a delegate.  Non-academics and scholars/practitioners from the Global South are especially welcome and will be given priority.  Registration is free, but spaces are limited, and all attendees are asked to register via email: bandy.lee@yale.edu.

Article Writing Workshop – This will be held at the end of the day, at 6 - 9 p.m., after the conference and in the same venue.  It is open to all, but especially to low- and middle-income country scholars who are looking to publish their work.  This event requires a separate registration, by email: bandy.lee@yale.edu.  Please note that there will be a preparatory assignment.

Milestones Meeting – Participants who are also interested in attending the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Milestones Meeting on September 22-23, 2015, are invited to register at: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/7th_milestones_meeting/en/

Scholarships – While we are still waiting on some funding sources, scholarships are unfortunately not likely to be available in time for this year.  If you have your own potential funding sources, however, we would gladly write letters of acceptance or of support that would help you to procure the funds. If you would like to make a donation, please contact us.

Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to seeing you in Geneva!

Bandy Lee (Yale University)
Maria Valenti (IPPNW)
Joám Evans Pim (Center for Global Nonkilling)

On behalf of the VPA Academic Collaborations Project Group

Organizing Committee:

Mary Davoren

Andrew Day

Jorja Leap

Bandy Lee

Gordon Phaneuf

Joám Evans Pim

Patrizia Romito

Cassandra Simmel

Sherry Sykes

Maria Valenti

Catherine Ward

Advisers:

Alexander Butchart

Berit Kieselbach