Alan McKinstry, a graduate of Queen's MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, has won the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religion's 2018 Sídh (Postgraduate) Essay Prize.

Alan's essay, which addressed the question, To what extent should Malcolm X’s role in the Civil Rights Movement be considered one of religious peace building?, was written for Dr Gladys Ganiel's Religion and Peacebuilding Module.

Alan is now a Frontline Youth Intervention Worker for a charity in East London. Alan works with young men and women who have been exploited by gang culture to help reduce harm and transform lifestyles.

Given East London's large Bengali community, he is particularly interested in the role Islam has to play in tackling youth violence within these communities.

Alongside this, Alan continues to perform research on the relationship between trauma and recidivism amongst young people from deprived communities.

More information about the Award can be found here: https://isasr.wordpress.com/essay-competitions-2018/