Aleppo Project at Central European University

Although, the war is Syria seems to wage more than ever, a group at the Center for Conflict, Negotiation and Recovery (CCNR) at the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest deals with the possibilities of people returning to post-conflict Syria.

The leader of the group is Professor Robert Templer, a highly experienced conflict researcher. The other two members are from Aleppo: Armen Tokmajyan is of Armenian descent while Hakim Al-Shaar is Arabic.

As the Aleppo Project webpage says, the project aims to address three issues: How can donors better help those trying to survive in the midst of destruction and how can that aid help rebuild communities as well as cities? How can refugees maintain a voice in what happens to their cities while balancing the need to redevelop healthier communities? What can we learn from the recent reconstruction of cities such as Beirut, Kabul and Sarajevo?

The Aleppo Project aims to come up with policy tools and ideas that enhance the power of communities to determine their own futures and helps donors do more with less. The core principle is to help people, particularly refugees and women who are shut out of decisions on aid and reconstruction, find a voice.