Uniform November: Peacebuilding through Place, Memory, and Adaptation

Uniform November is a peacebuilding consultancy rooted in the belief that architecture, space, and memory are powerful tools for resilience and recovery after conflict.

Founded by a former UN staff member with years of experience working alongside NGOs, civil society, and international organizations, we bring deep insight into the strategies, communications, and practices needed to support communities living with the legacies of violence.

We believe that peacebuilding must begin in war. It cannot wait for silence or stability. It has to be shaped in the very conditions of violence, breathing the same air as the people it claims to serve, air choked with drone buzz, sirens, distant shelling, bad bread lines, and flickering generators.

Our work combines consultancy, training, and original research with critical reflection on how societies adapt to conflict, displacement, and trauma. From heritage reuse to housing, land, and property (HLP) solutions, from mapping sites of violence to developing trauma-informed approaches to memorialisation, we focus on practical interventions that strengthen social cohesion and reduce the risk of renewed violence.

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Ukraine: Peacebuilding in Real Time

Uniform November has been working in Kyiv, engaging with those shaping peacebuilding under the direct pressures of war. This work goes beyond cultural heritage, it is about understanding how societies improvise resilience while under fire, and how peace must be crafted in parallel with survival.

Our research and fieldwork there has included dialogue with:

• Civil actors searching for and recovering the missing from battle lines

• Private security operatives and emergency responders

• Psychologists and trauma support providers

• Housing, land, and property (HLP) specialists navigating displacement and return

• Civil alliance group founders shaping collective responses to crisis

• Journalists and researchers documenting violence and resistance

• Military commanders and activists balancing survival with long-term vision

These encounters inform both our practical consultancy and our research outputs, grounding our conviction that recovery and reconciliation are not abstract ideals but lived processes forged in conditions of exhaustion, scarcity, and danger. The lessons drawn from Ukraine deepen and expand our global work on post-conflict recovery.

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What We Do

• Heritage Reuse: Breathing new life into buildings and cultural landmarks damaged by war, enabling communities to reconnect with their histories while shaping their futures.

• HLP Solutions: Addressing complex housing, land, and property challenges faced by displaced populations to support return, resettlement, and recovery.

• Memorialisation & Trauma-Informed Practices: Exploring how memory and place shape recovery, and helping communities create spaces that acknowledge violence without being trapped by it.

• Research: Conducting original field-based and theoretical research into peacebuilding, recovery, and resilience — from mapping sites of violence to documenting everyday practices of survival, adaptation, and social cohesion.

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Our Partnerships and Track Record

We have collaborated with UNESCO, ICCROM, the British Council, UN-Habitat, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and The HALO Trust, alongside grassroots groups, military stakeholders, and local leaders in Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, and beyond.

Key contributions include:

• Designing an urban park for youth in Mosul on land once occupied by ISIS.

• Mapping sites of violence in Mosul and Tal Afar with IOM’s MHPSS unit.

• Conducting national HLP assessments to support IOM’s resettlement strategies.

• Training local and international staff on post-conflict memory, persecution, and place.

• Supporting UNESCO and ICCROM’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, empowering Iraqi architects and engineers to reuse cultural landmarks.

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Why Uniform November?

We don’t see peacebuilding as a template, it’s a process that requires sensitivity, creativity, and honesty. Our approach draws on years of fieldwork, policy expertise, and research to help organizations and communities navigate the complexities of recovery.

Through our writing, consultancy, and partnerships, we aim to deepen understanding of how the built environment, cultural memory, and everyday survival can contribute to stability, dignity, and peace.

Uniform November exists to ask difficult questions, share critical insights, and design practical strategies for recovery and resilience.