Peace Solutions International (PSI) are a peacebuilding organisation based in Kampala, Uganda. It works within the refugee community on issues of peacebuilding, human rights, and democracy, largely through performing arts and film projects.

Peace Solutions International film launch

The conflict in nothern Uganda between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government has dominated attention and resources towards the country in recent years. But Uganda - particularly northern Uganda and the capital city, Kampala - is also struggling to deal with an unprecedented influx of refugees from neighbouring South Sudan and DR Congo. This has brought with it major challenges and further conflict within Uganda’s already large refugee community.

PSI’s work brings together refugees from different nationalities, tribes and communities to work together, and in doing so builds friendships and understanding. Its Unity Group for Movie Production project recruits people from disparate refugee communities and encourages them to collaborate in the production of films endorsing peacebuilding and human rights. Bringing these rival groups together on these productions helps to foster understanding and cross cultural relationships through the medium of acting and film production. These films have been shown both within Uganda, and in the countries in which many of the refugees originate, in order to help spread their influence further.

Underpinning PSI’s work is the ethos that the people best placed to resolve conflict within the refugee community are the refugees themselves. It is this collaboration which PSI hopes to facilitate. One great endorsement are the many inter-group marriages that have occurred following participation in PSI projects, something that would very rarely occur outside of the projects.