Due to the lack of research informed analysis, GoSS policy makers, as well as international actors involved in addressing the violence in Jonglei, base their policies and plans on received wisdom and anecdotal evidence. In many cases, the concerned youth are not even included in local-level peace initiatives. Research is necessary in order to acquire and disseminate knowledge and solutions to the wide-reaching security problems related to local violence. The PRIO project Youth and Violence in South Sudan (YuViSS) is designed to narrow the prevailing knowledge gap and to contribute significantly to the academic understanding of youth and violence in post-war settings. It will also develop policies recommendations to address the violence and other problems related to the current predicament of many youth in Jonglei and elsewhere in South Sudan.
Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is responsible for implementing and reporting on the activities of YuViSS. Senior Researcher Dr. Øystein H. Rolandsen is the Project Manager and Doctoral Researcher Ingrid Marie Breidlid is the Principal Researcher. The research activities will be conducted by a Norwegian-South Sudanese team and a project advisory board will contribute towards quality insurance, policy relevance and dissemination of project outcomes. The project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
