Placement, Preservation and Perseverance (PPP) as a project was conceptualized by a group of scholars and activists who had years of lived experiences of either being at-risk/displaced and/or creating organizational capacity in Canadian universities to champion academic freedom. We believe in creating a model for the Canadian higher education system that can develop into a sustainable, humanistic and rights-based approach to supporting and resettling at-risk scholars, activists and students in Canada. The broader idea of the project was shaped into its current form, with guidance from IDRC, to cater to the then emerging Afghan crisis in mid-2021. The impact was felt at the individual, societal and global levels, as scholars/activists were forced to flee and destruction of an otherwise laboriously built and thriving higher education system of the country disrupted the country’s knowledge (networks) preserves.
PPP is a unique IDRC funded project that it is implemented within Canada for displaced Afghan beneficiaries/participants. This research project has a goal of creating knowledge and understanding of crisis response models or systems for higher education institutions in the country. It also aims to aid all actors and stakeholders working in resettlement and integration in Canada.
The specific objectives and corresponding outcomes of PPP are:
- demonstrate how the scholarly community can better prepare for disruptions to knowledge communities caused by crises.
- research what systems can be put into place before a crisis becomes a catastrophe.
- assess when protective measures can be put in place to preserve knowledge communities before, during and after displacement.
- demonstrate why it is important to rebuild knowledge communities in the diaspora to promote academic freedom and help preserve essential knowledge systems.
The project has three programmatic areas. They are as follows:
Placement as Process
The project is aimed at creating a comprehensive process for the placement of incoming ASAs where they experience a human rights-centric reception in Canada, with care at the heart of resettlement and integration to new academic environments. Currently, we are in the process of placing at least six Afghan scholars in higher education institutes in Canada and we have eight activists participating in the PPP project.
Preserving Knowledge
This initiative seeks to ensure the long-term preservation of Afghan knowledge among diaspora communities while empowering Afghan scholars and activists to thrive resiliently amidst their new environments. A total of eleven research outputs are planned under the PPP project. This includes research done by the PPP team and the participants of the PPP program including activists and scholars. Six projects are currently in progress.
Intergenerational Connections and Futures
This programmatic area aims at contributing to inform research, policy, and practice and international debates about how best to respond to humanitarian, political and development crises in Afghanistan in the short- and medium-term (and in similar contexts in future). ICF connects Afghan students with ASAs to discuss, exchange ideas, and document possible pathways for a sociopolitically forward-looking Afghanistan. The outcome of this program will be a more sustainable mentoring and networking ‘hub’ to support ongoing scholarly community building between students and ASAs past the project end date. ICF is led by UBC.
For more information, visit: https://humanrightscollective.ubc.ca/current-areas-of-focus/intergenerational-connections-and-futures-afghanistan/