Syrian Oral History Archive

Objective
Review and evaluate the pilot phase of the oral history archive project and present recommendations to the framework of the project and its methodology where possible.

Background
As part of Dawlaty’s work on creating a “Syrian oral history archive” within the “Transitional Justice” program to engage communities in transitional justice, Dawlaty worked with two groups to document the experiences and turn their life narratives into materials that can be used to publicize and disseminate as platforms for discussion among their communities and beyond. Dawlaty sought to work with young people to formulate their concepts on citizenship and identity. It also sought to explore the experiences and assess the needs of women relatives of the missing and the detained. This project would help us to examine issues related to transitional justice with youth and, including an examination of the factors of excluding and marginalizing them within their communities and the obstacles and challenges that they face. It also has the potential to build capacity of women and youth to engage in future transitional justice discussions.
When one talks about transitional justice, beyond the mechanisms themselves, what is at stake is a process of social transformation. At the very core of any effort to engage communities in transitional justice processes lies the underlying longer term process of using the period of conflict as a transition towards setting the foundations for a new, inclusionary society. Dawlaty worked with two partners, Jafra and Women Now, to reach Syria’s diverse population groups and segments, across various political and military lines, to create an oral history archive. The oral histories archive includes stories from Kurdish and Palestinian-Syrian communities, ensuring that these marginalised voices are heard in the debate. However it still has limitations in its reach into government held areas and document the life narratives of communities that reside there.
The project started in August 2016 with a partnership between the three organizations who were trained on the basics of interviewing and memory work. The initial training was facilitated with the support of a trainer expert from the South African History Archive (SAHA). Following this initial training, teams in Syria (Amuda, Aarbin, Daraa, and Idlib) as well as teams in Lebanon (Majdel Anjar and Shtoura) were recruited and trained on these techniques and set out to collect life narratives from each of the two populations of interest. Currently, Dawlaty is concluding its pilot phase of the project and would wish to contract the support of a consultant to review and evaluate this pilot phase and recommend ways in which to strengthen and modify the framework, scope and methodology of the project.
Process
In evaluating the project, the consultant will be expected to;

Review regional programs and projects working on archiving the memory of the Syrian Conflict

Identify actors and relevant projects that worked on memory work related to the Syrian Conflict
Review key lessons learned and map out possible intersections with Dawlaty’s project
Identify possible partners and actors who might be of interest to the project

Familiarize oneself with the project’s aims, goals, and future ambitions

Review the framework of the project, its methodology, and outcomes of the pilot phase
Review the collected narratives in possession
Review the plan that is set up by Dawlaty for the coming year

Carry out any needed consultations and meetings with the project partners, relevant parties, and actors

Carry out consultations with the project partners and staff, including story collectors
Carry out any possible consultations with actors who might be of interest to contribute or exchange lessons learned as well as actors who might present opportunities for the archive
Assist in the planning and facilitation of a meeting among project partners to discuss and review the framework based on the findings that the consultant reaches

Evaluate the successes and setbacks inherent in the project’s process

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the archive’s work

Provide a report including the evaluation of the project and recommendations for the archive to achieve its ambitions

Deliverables

Evaluation report of the project’s pilot phase and recommendations for future work

An updated framework document

Qualifications:

Demonstrated experience in managing oral history archives, preferably in contexts of conflict or post-conflict.

Working knowledge of Arabic and English

Knowledge of and experience working in Syrian context strongly preferred

Knowledge of transitional justice, civil society, civic and democratic values and civil disobedience strongly preferred