This research investigates the potential of animation to act as a
tool for peace-building. It specifically takes the conflict
between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots as case study. It
is a cross-disciplinary, value-driven, practice-led inquiry,
affiliated with the paradigm of constructivism and the approach
of participatory action research. It triangulates the
interchangeable qualitative methods of conflict case mapping
and assessment, of questionnaires and of reflective animation
practice to demonstrate that animation can indeed assist
peace-building. The main fields of study that this inquiry deals
with are peace research -located within social sciences- and
the field of animation, situated within the field of the arts -as
opposed to computer science-. Key authors influencing the
study include Johan Galtung, Elise and Kenneth Boulding, Carol
Rank, Cynthia Cohen, Susan Sontag and Yiannis Papadakis. The
values that drive the research derive from the paradigm of
positive peace, developed by Galtung. They can be
summarised as justice, equality, prosperity, non-violence,
cooperation and solidarity. Following exchanges with
participants from the two conflicting communities, problems
were identified and animation solutions proposed out of which
three test-animations were created. These address the themes
of inter-communal relationships, language and a shared future .
Their impact was then discussed and evaluated by a local
audience who suggested amendments. This perpetual,
collaborative procedure of action is to be repeated until all
needs are met and problems resolved. Primarily my original
contribution to knowledge lies in researching a largely
neglected area of the arts and peace and in successfully
proving that animation can act for the purposes of peacebuilding.
The evidence of animation's potential as a peacebuilding
tool is threefold: firstly, my Action Research approach
leads to the identification of specific animation strategies for
any ethnic conflict case. Secondly, animation attributes are
enlisted that support this function of the medium. Finally,
affirmation was gathered from questionnaires