TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .
An article from Unité.ci
The Union of Youth of the commune of Port-Bouët, in collaboration with the NGO “Acting for peace and well-being” (ONGAPBE), organized on Saturday 10 June 2017 at the Hotel Communal, a seminar on “How can youth develop the culture of peace in the commune of Port-Bouët? “.
Photo legend : Seminar participants sit in a circle
Samuel Kouassi, President of the Youth Union, gave the reasons for holding such a seminar. According to him, it is the young people who in times of acute crisis are instrumentalized to commit acts of violence. “Youth can become the armed fist of people with troubled and selfish purposes. We must therefore work to ensure that this important segment of the population in our commune in particular and in the country in general find ways to protect themselves in case of crisis, disorder or disorder.” That is why he invited the leaders of young people from all parts of the commune to listen carefully to the message delivered today and put it into practice if necessary.
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Mr Koffi Amani, President of ONGAPBE, gave some suggestions for young people to be peace actors in their families, neighborhoods, communities and, in turn, in Côte d’Ivoire. According to him, the seminar establishes an interactive methodology, “Collective intelligence, listening to others and networking among all the youth groups makes it possible to involve young people in the search for peace,” he said. For him, it is essential to avoid suspicions and dissension. Young people should think together by listening to each one, giving positions and listening to those of others. “The culture of peace must not be an isolated action, since it concerns everyone. With us 1 + 1 is not equal to 2, but to 11. For 11 is the figure of force, while 2 is division. Our methodology is to bring everyone together to produce the desired results, “said Koffi Amani.
He recalled that the NGO he runs has been functioning since December 2012. In January 2013, the NGO trained its facilitators who are people who publicly animate seminars, meetings or training sessions. The facilitator is called the “host.” Their methodology consists in having the participants set up in a circle. “The circle has a specificity in the sense that it allows everyone to see each other during the exchanges. Each point of the circle constituted by each participant has equal value. That is, each participant has the same importance as the others in the debate. There is no leader and everyone has the right to speak. Each one can not speak more than another and each participant can not see the right to speak back. He who has not the word should listen attentively to the one who is speaking. These are the rules we have set ourselves to inculcate certain values to all those who take part in our trainings, “said the president of the NGO.
Participants talked about their experience of peace and how they once worked in their lives to bring harmony into the family, neighborhood, school, etc. It is this experience that they have been asked to remember, the day when they will be faced with a situation that requires them to commit themselves to peace.