Work advocating the rights and wellbeing of Children Born of War recognised at Birmingham’s 2025 Research Impact Awards

-GRACE

06 Jun 2025

In May, the University of Birmingham, at its annual Research Impact Awards ceremony, celebrated research and collaboration creating real-world positive change. Attendees included the university’s researchers, research facilitators and external partners that have made impactful work possible.

Professor Dominique Moran, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Research Impact, spoke at the event, highlighting that the evening was:

“A moment to pause and recognise the commitment and efforts of our research community to create research that makes a difference to the world beyond academia.”

GRACE Trustee Sabine Lee was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Impact for a Fairer World along with her collaborator and GRACE trustee, Dheeraj Akolkar. This award not only recognises Sabine’s and Dheeraj’s commitment and work supporting the rights of children born of war (CBOW) but also the crucial involvement and collective effort of a wider team, including children born of war themselves and survivors of wartime sexual violence, GRACE, grassroots organisations in Uganda, Bosnia, and Germany, student volunteers, activists, researchers, and policymakers.

Yonah Peace Lanyero, a child born of war from Uganda, powerfully underscored the collaborative spirit of this work with a video call to action at the awards ceremony, to leave no doubt that many groups and collaborators have been essential for making an impactful difference to people affected by conflict and sexual violence. GRACE celebrates their achievements and is proud of the work we are conducting together to create change and a more just, equal world.

Speaking about the event, Sabine and Dheeraj both shared their appreciation for the recognition of this work and highlighted the different networks and groups that have been a part of this collaborative process:

“The University of Birmingham and GRACE have been powerful allies in their advocacy for CBOW, bringing together research and charitable work to improve their wellbeing. We were delighted to see this work showcased and its importance appreciated at the awards.”

- Sabine Lee

“I am deeply grateful to be one of Prof. Dr Sabine Lee’s collaborators alongside the children born of wars and their mothers; activists, artists, researchers and peacebuilders. Our efforts have always been to contribute to dissolving borders that separate us and, in doing so, allow us to see each other as human beings. The real impact is when hearts connect and when there are fewer strangers in the world, for life belongs to us all equally. I truly hope that together, we may leave this space a bit better than when we found it.”

- Dheeraj Akolkar

References https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/university-of-birmingham-celebrates-research-impact