In this first pilot, we are using our Intercultural Virtual Home (IVH) through various virtual exchanges in which participants are expected to engage in discussions on various topics, fostering intercultural understanding and promoting peace through people-to-people connections. Interactions will help foster a sense of community and solidarity among participants by creating opportunities for collaboration, the creation of thematic networks focused on issues familiar to practitioners like transitional justice, collective action, or conflict resolution are key of this first iteration of the project.

In this first of many projects, we investigate how effective a series of intercultural and peace-building exchanges between practitioners from Colombia and Northern Ireland can be utilized in engaging participants to share their experiences of violence, as well as their knowledge and expertise on peacebuilding and community development from their own post-conflict contexts, on creating best common practices. We are also trying to understand to what extent virtual reality environments are effective in fostering communication, engagement, and knowledge exchange compared to traditional online conferencing methods.