2009: Leading peace project in Africa

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Tags: winter-2012

Laura Grant, Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts

Laura Grant receives her John Monash Scholarship from fellow UQ alumna, Governor-General, Dr Quentin Bryce AC CVO

Laura Grant has found her life’s work in the pursuit of peace, justice and conflict resolution.

In 2011, she was one of eight Australians awarded the prestigious John Monash Scholarship, which has taken her to Sweden to complete a Master in Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University.

The UQ graduate said she had always been motivated by a strong interest in social justice and international affairs.

“I am most interested in the relationship between local and international approaches to justice, and hope that I will ultimately hold a role that enables me to bridge the gap that often exists between these two interests,” she said.

While volunteering with the Oaktree Foundation, a not-for-profit group based in Australia, Ms Grant travelled to South Africa to participate in the foundation’s Schools4Schools program.

This was followed by an internship with the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), where she worked in the peace-building unit.

During her time there, she organised training workshops for senior representatives of government, civil society, and the United Nations from Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Sudan.

“Soaking up the knowledge and experience of individuals who were peace-builders by circumstance rather than by choice impacted strongly upon me, refining my ideas about peace and justice,” Ms Grant said.

These experiences at ACCORD were the focus of her research and career proposal to the Monash Foundation.

“I’ve been delighted with the Monash program, and its reputation for combining research and practice, especially in Africa,” she said.

“In the future my work is likely to keep me in Africa, however later on, I would love to work with Australian think tanks and NGOs.”

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