Category Archives: Africa

Decolonising peace journalism – and putting it to work in East Africa

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from The Conversation (republished according to a  Creative Commons Attribution / No modification license )

Conflict resolution is a recurrent theme in East Africa. This has prompted the need for innovative ways to create lasting consensus in the region as well as across the continent. One of these innovative ways is peace journalism. It can stimulate peaceful resolution of conflict by voicing different conflicting parties and issues in a balanced and objective manner. The Conversation Africa’s Julie Masiga spoke to Fredrick Ogenga about the role of peace journalism in Africa.


TV reporters prepare for a live broadcast during a strike by airline workers in Nairobi. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

What is peace journalism and why does it matter?

Peace journalism is evident when reporters and editors make deliberate choices in their day to to day work that create opportunities for society at large to consider and value nonviolent responses to conflict.

The approach opens the possibility of a new road map tracing the connections between journalists, their sources, the stories they cover – and the consequences of their journalism. It builds awareness of nonviolence and creativity into the practical job of everyday editing and reporting that brings different parties to the negotiating table.

However, it is a Western concept that needs decolonising in terms of orientation and applicability. African peace journalism rejects the notion that “nothing good can come out of Africa”. It seeks to challenge the negative narratives about Africa. Africans can be both authors and sources of positive narratives. This requires us to rethink our set of news values if we are to imagine a new kind of transformative journalism.

We must also be clear about what peace journalism isn’t. It is not reporting that is wholly or even primarily oriented towards peace at all costs. It does not sacrifice truth and justice for a “law and order” type of peace as defined by the state. Instead, the essential elements of this form of journalism include sensitivity, agility, caution, factual information and self-reflectivity in relation to what media practitioners put into the content of news reports and editorials.

The nature of conflicts and the degree of media freedom varies from country to country. For this reason, these elements may not be uniformly applicable. For instance, covering a civil war will differ from reporting on terrorism or political or election-related conflict. However, these elements and the values will help foster a culture of peace and nonviolent conflict resolution across the region.

The manual for media practitioners that I recently edited tries to present this vision. The publication was the outcome of a workshop of journalists and scholars in the area of conflict and peacebuilding in East Africa.
Contributing experts are of the view that sensitivity to peace and the nonviolent prevention and resolution of conflict is best captured within the conceptual framework of “peace journalism”.

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Question(s) related to this article:

African journalism and the Culture of Peace, A model for the rest of the world?

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What are the highlights of the manual?

The manual offers refreshing perspectives on peace journalism by exploring the core values of truthfulness, social justice, equity, African cultures of peace, and balanced news reporting.

The chapters cumulatively represent a rich repertoire of experiences and cases that skilfully tell the story of the connections between media and peacebuilding in East Africa.

African peace journalism is journalism with African nuances and lenses that imbibe African values and philosophies. These would mean the inclusion of Utu/Ubuntu (humanity), Harambee (collective responsibility), and Umoja (unity) as news values. The manual captures these Afrocentric views of journalism in the context of the continent’s peace and security challenges.

Here are three highlights:

* Gloria Laker explores the role of peace journalism in ending the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency (1988-2006) in northern Uganda, drawing upon Laker’s own experience as a war reporter.


* Duncan Omanga approaches the concept of terrorism as a form of political communication through public spectacle (and mass hysteria) and warns of the dangers of inappropriate labels in news coverage and reportage.


* Finally, I offer a conceptual overview of a hybrid (African) peace journalism in the context of emerging terrorist threats in Kenya. I explain how this unique approach to peace journalism combines elements from Western peace journalism and African lenses in conflict-sensitive reporting.


Our contribution to the peace journalism debate as Africans is slowly gaining popularity in the minds of ordinary people. This has been made possible through social media spaces where local content creators are taking the lead in pushing the narrative especially when it comes to contentious issues such as electoral politics. User generated content holds sway on social media.

Nevertheless, the manual has some good examples of both peace journalism and Africa peace journalism capturing cases in Kenya and Uganda. Most of these are stories are about ethnic politics, gender body politics, human rights and violent extremism.

Are there instances where the media have made conflict worse?

Yes. This was experienced in Kenya’s 2007-2008 general elections, which ended in post-election violence. It was at that point that I began exploring ways to make the media part of the solution and not the problem. Kenya’s media has often behaved ignorantly when reporting electoral politics and even violent extremism when it has manifested in terrorist attacks.

A keen observer knows well that the way the Kenyan media covered the Dusit Hotel attack in 2019 was different from the manner they reported the Westgate attack in 2013. The Westgate Mall attack coverage was much more sensationalist. The difference didn’t happen by chance. It was deliberate. The 2019 coverage was a product of extensive advocacy and training over the years on conflict sensitive journalism, which is largely the objective of the peace journalism manual.

During the 2013 general election, the Kenyan media was accused of pursuing the peace agenda at the expense of independence. Where do you draw the line?

We do not want journalists to be peace crusaders or televangelists. All we need to see is some journalism with an African lens, that speaks to Africa’s sense of agency, context and locality.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Agroecology: The Real Deal For Climate Crisis In Africa

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa

12 African organizations are taking action together online, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, to call for action on climate change and promote agroecology

* Agroecology is Africa’s future for healthy, nutritious, and resilient food systems

* Agroecology is Africa’s best solution for climate change adaptation

* Agroecology cares for Mother Earth and restores biodiversity

* Agroecology addresses the imbalances between the powerful and the powerless

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is pleased to officially launch a social media campaign on Agroecology for Climate Action, today, April 21, 2020. The campaign will also observe the occasion of Earth Day 2020, which will be internationally celebrated on April 22. The campaign will be live between April 21-23 on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The official hashtag for the campaign is #Agroecology4Climate

AFSA launched policy advocacy endeavor in 2019, during the first Africa Climate Week in Accra, Ghana championing agroecology as an African solution to the climate crisis. The major purpose of the drive was to establish agroecology as a key policy response to the climate crisis that is negatively impacting Africa.

This social media campaign intends to mobilize and engage with the digital community in Africa and establish agroecology as the real deal to feed Africa and cool the planet.

AFSA Chairperson Dr Chris Macoloo emphasized the challenge we face: “Africa is the continent hardest hit by climate change while contributing the least to its cause. Drought, land degradation and ocean-temperature-rise threaten the livelihoods of many millions of African farmers, pastoralists and fishers. Agroecology mitigates and adapts, putting carbon back into the soil, and provides innovative ecological solutions to meet the climate challenges.”

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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Dr Million Belay, General Coordinator of AFSA, said, “Holding a social media campaign on Agroecology for Climate is of urgent importance to AFSA. This is to quickly adapt to the new challenge that the coronavirus pandemic presented in communication as well as inject the voice of urgency to deal with the industrial agriculture, which is the root cause of the COVID 19 and the climate crisis.”

AFSA aims to establish agroecology as the priority African-led solution to the climate crisis.

The three-day social media campaign intends to:

* Promote agroecology as an African-led solution to climate emergency.

* Establish agroecology as a modern, scientific, and viable farming system that feeds Africa with culturally appropriate, healthy, and nutritious food.

* Establish agroecology as the most ecologically friendly farming system that works with the environment, nurtures biodiversity, and helps mitigate climate crisis.

Bridget Mugambe, AFSA Program Coordinator said, “Agroecology is a reverse response rejecting the industrial monoculture agriculture that contributes more than 90% of greenhouse gas emissions, degrades the environment, depletes biodiversity, erodes diverse cultures, and only feeds less than 30 percent of the world population. Campaigning for agroecology is campaigning for healthy and sustainable food systems while celebrating the farmers that feed 70% of the population with less than a quarter of all farmland.”

The online campaign will join a Twitter storm on April 22 commemorating World Earth Day. It is an ideal day to speak of the greatest bountiful gift that nature provides, our ability to farm and feed ourselves. We will join citizens of the world in their quest to make the human enterprise care and act towards a harmonious future that works for all life forms on earth.

AFSA is the biggest continental voice for food sovereignty and agroecology in Africa. It is the largest network of networks in Africa with more than 40 network members with a combined potential reach of up to 200 million Africans. Its membership embraces farmers, indigenous communities, pastoralists, hunters and gatherers, fisherfolk, consumer networks, women and youth networks, faith-based organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs).

Follow us on Twitter @Afsafrica, on Instagram @Afsafrica, and on Facebook AFSA.

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

North Africa: The Corona pandemic and the Struggle for our Peoples’ Resources and Food Sovereignty

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A presentation by Omar Aziki published by The Transnational Institute (reprinted according to a Creative Commons Licence:Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 licence.)

Today, it appears that the Coronavirus Pandemic will inadvertently cause humanitarian tragedies of immense proportions. Its health, social, economic and psychological repercussions vary depending on social status. The lower classes will be the first to suffer from the lack of public healthcare and medication, as well as from the economic recession’s impact on employment and the cost of living.


Watch the video (In Arabic)

The spread of Covid-19 has exposed a relationship between the health crisis and other crises  brought about by the capitalist system. The latter includes financial crises (the crash of stock markets worldwide) as well as economic (the decline of production and economic recession), environmental (climate change and loss of biodiversity) and political ones (the rise of totalitarian governments and an institutional strain of international capitalism). The virus has also found fodder in the immigration crisis (spread across all continents) and the food crisis. There is a correlation between the vulnerability of the human immune system and the recurrence of epidemics. The manner by which agriculture has transformed, from an activity that produces ecological and healthy food, to a profit-making industry built on the poisoning of our bodies and environment.

Capitalism has destroyed subsistence agriculture, a mode of production in harmony with its environment, and caused massive deforestation and over-exploitation of marine resources. Meanwhile, big corporations have seized the genetic heritage developed by peasants through the centuries. They have appropriated a biodiversity constructed through the natural selection process of varieties of seeds, plants, and livestock. As such, GMOs were disseminated based on the logic of excessive production. These organisms form the basis of destructive monoculture, using production techniques that heavily depend on chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, industrial feed, added hormones and antibiotics. This heinous process of production affects both farm and marine animals. Capitalist conglomerates have dominated plant and livestock production chains, as well as distribution and consumption networks. The globalization of transportation and communication, as well as advertising (which is one of capitalism’s most effective weapons) made the penetration of an industrial consumer-oriented food regime possible.

That’s how famine developed; from which more than 820 million people suffer around the world today. And we mustn’t forget that the numbers do not reflect the extent of malnutrition in the countries of the South (especially amongst women and children) and its repercussions on the outbreak of diseases. The food dependency of most of the countries of the South was intensified by the agricultural policies of the big capitalists who produced to export what the world markets required according to the international division of labour. The import of essential commodities became dependent on speculative food markets. This is the reality experienced by the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, which have become one of the largest global importers of foodstuffs. These countries live at the mercy of food markets, a reality which has subjected them to regular bread riots as food prices have risen during the last 40 years. The most recent are the protests resulting from the food crisis in the context of the 2007-2008 international financial recession. This food crisis can be directly linked to the subsequent popular uprisings we witnessed in most countries in the region, from the end of 2010 until the beginning of 2020 when confinement measures obliged protesters to desert the streets.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

(article continued from left side of page)

Today, as our region faces the Covid-19 outbreak, we see direct producers risking their lives as they resume their activities. Meanwhile, agricultural capitalists continue to show their disregard for the workers’ lives. They deny their right to preventive health measures both in transportation and inside production units while benefiting from state support, tax concessions, loan facilities and other benefits. On the other hand, small farmers, fishers, herders and agricultural labourers suffer from the lack or insufficiency of social subsidies, public healthcare, on top of a rise of prices for essential commodities, falling incomes and outright job loss.

The North African Network for Food Sovereignty, to which I belong, has put forward a series of demands and urgent measures  to be implemented through the entire health emergency period:

a. For small farmers, fishers, herders, forest workers and the unemployed in rural areas:

b. The payment of monthly compensation, no less than the minimum wage in rural areas, for the entire health emergency period.

c. The amount of compensation should be proportionate to the number of dependents in the worker’s household.

d. The universalization of social security and healthcare coverage and access to regular pensions.

e. The cancellation of debt owed by small farmers.

f. Providing all types of support to subsistence farming activities (in plains, mountains, forests and oases), subsistence stockbreeding, and coastal subsistence. As well as encouraging the consumption of their products through the creation of direct markets and fighting illegal and monopoly speculation.

For employees who lost their jobs in the fishing and agriculture sectors:

a. The payment of full wages.

b. The payment of employees’ social security contributions.

c. The cancellation of consumer credit and micro-credits.

For all direct producers in agriculture and fishing sectors:

a. The creation of a fund to regulate the prices of essential commodities (major food crops, vegetable oils, sugar, butane gas…)

For households, the state must cover the cost of:

a. The means of protection against Covid-19.

b. Medication and all medical services.

c. Water, electricity, communication networks and rent.

d. Children’s education.

Indeed, the deterioration of living and healthcare conditions will once again fuel popular uprisings which are already finding new ways to manifest themselves during the lockdown. We in the North African Network for Food sovereignty will work to engage with and mobilise small farmers, fishers, herders, forest and agricultural workers in this upcoming struggle.

We will continue, from within the Network, our activism and campaigns for:

* Popular education.

* Strengthening solidarity and organizational links.

* Speaking up against repression and the stifling of freedom of expression

* Exposing the prevailing model of production and consumption.

* The alternative of Food Sovereignty.

Africa, Mideast, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,

PAYNCoP Gabon Works with UNESCO to Combat Covid19 Fake News and Violence Against Women

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

sent to CPNN by Jerry Bibang

As part of the celebration of World Press Freedom Day (03 May), PAYNCoP Gabon took part, on 04 and 05 May 2020, in two video conferences, organized by the UNESCO Office in Libreville.


The first conference, which brought together about twenty youth organizations, focused on Media and Information Education (MIE) in order to combat the spread of fake news, particularly in connection with Covid 19.

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Click here for the original version in French)

Question(s) related to this article:

African journalism and the Culture of Peace, A model for the rest of the world?

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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The meeting enabled the young association leaders from Gabon, including those from PAYNCoP Gabon, to strengthen their capacities in the techniques of detecting and verifying false information (fact-checking). Their rich discussions helped identify actions to be implemented jointly as part of the fight against Covid19, including an online awareness campaign.

The second conference, with journalists from public and private media, focused on dealing with violence against women and the safety of journalists. It was a question of seeing, among other things, how to deal with issues of violence against women, while respecting the rules of professional ethics and deontology as well as social and cultural realities in the Gabonese context. A pedagogical guide, published by UNESCO, entitled “Informing on violence against women and girls” as well as numerous oher contributions formed the framework of the exchanges.

On the sidelines of this meeting, the participating journalists discussed the need to set up a self-regulatory platform for information and communication professionals in order to to improve the practice of journalism in Gabon.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations: Five Youth-Led Organizations Selected as Recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund for 2019

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from the newsletter of United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

UNAOC has announced the latest recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) [ announced in 2019]. More than 600 proposals were received from over 70 countries in response to the call for applications. Five organizations based in Africa and Asia were then selected to receive seed funding of up to USD 25,000 for the purpose of implementing projects with innovative and effective approaches to intercultural dialogue and interfaith harmony. These five recipients join a group of 63 other youth-led organizations that have been funded by UNAOC since 2008.

In addition to seed funding, YSF recipients will also receive technical support to strengthen the implementation of their projects. UNAOC has partnered with Search for Common Ground to facilitate a capacity-building programme called Youth 360, involving online workshops and ongoing support from mentors. YSF recipients will have access to this support until the end of their project implementation period in November 2020.

The current edition of YSF is implemented through financial contributions from the Governments of Finland, Malta and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Umoja Mashinani – Kenya

“Our project, Umoja Mashinani, can be loosely translated to mean Peace Ambassadors in the Grassroots. We aim to enhance the capacity of community radio journalists to promote messages on non-violence, religious respect and intercul- tural cohesion. With UNAOC, we hope to build a sustainable and impactful platform together, fostering a community of young people who work for peace.”

Bonface Ochieng Opany, 27 years old
Project Coordinator, Umoja Mashinani
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Amani Centre (Kenya)

Theatre for Peace – Sri Lanka

“Our project will bring young people with diverse backgrounds together to connect, create and transform. Through theater, we will facilitate a process of introspection to explore and challenge our own identities, beliefs, biases and perspectives. With the resources and the solidarity shared through UNAOC we will be stronger to stand up and challenge the polarization and separation in our society.”
Sivatharsini Raveendran, 28 years old Project Coordinator, Theatre for Peace – Connect.Create. Transform

For Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Centre for Communication Training (Sri Lanka)

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Question related to this article:
 
Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

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We Play for Peace – Lebanon

“We are launching ‘We Play for Peace!’ which is a project funded by UNAOC to create a safe space for youth from different religions, nationalities and backgrounds. Through sports, young people from the North Bekaa region of Lebanon will get the opportunity to set their differences aside and play together in peace. Youth will erase the memory of conflict and be a source of positive change for the future.”

Mehdi Houssein Yehya, 31 years old
Project Coordinator, We Play for Peace! Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Peace of Art (Lebanon)

Dismantling Stereotypes – Kingdom of Eswatini

“We are curating interfaith and intercultural conversations amongst young people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. With the grant from UNAOC, we aim to inculcate a culture of mutual understanding, respect and tolerance for these young people. Our goal is to place youth in the center of pre- venting any religious and cultural differences from breaking out into violence or developing into mechanisms for excluding other people.”

Sicelo Christopher Gama, 29 years old Project Coordinator,
Dismantling Religious and Cultural Stereotypes for Social Cohesion and Sustainable Peac
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Swaziland Intent Youth Organization (Kingdom of Eswatini)

Nurturing for Peace – Uganda

“We thank UNAOC for their support of our project that will engage youth from seven sects of Islam and Christianity to strengthen interfaith understanding and foster new friendships. The project aims to reduce support for religiously motivated recruitment and acts of violent extremism in Eastern Uganda. We are confident that our project will be a living symbol to the ideals of interfaith cooperation and friendship among faiths.”

Zulaika Nanfuka, 32 years old
Project Coordinator, Nurturing for Peace
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (Uganda)

Africa, Mideast, South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations, , ,

The New World Citizen Laboratory, Yali Gabon and PAYNCoP Gabon join forces to raise awareness about Covid 19

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY . .

Sent to CPNN by Jerry Bibang

As part of the fight against the covid 19 pandemic, the New World Citizen Laboratory (LCNM), Yali Gabon and PAYNCoP Gabon platforms have joined forces to raise awareness among young people about the covid 19 pandemic using comic strips.



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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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The initiative supports government efforts since the start of the corona virus pandemic in our country. From the first cases of the disease, the highest authorities have declared war on this invisible enemy. Through this action, these three organizations want to make their modest contribution to this war.

The project consists in making young people aware of the myths surrounding Covid 19. “We started from an observation: several false ideas, relating to the treatment or prevention of covid 19, are conveyed by certain people” explained Dora from LCNM . “These people regularly use social networks (facebook and watsap) to disseminate their messages,” added Marcel Ebenezer.

Among these misconceptions that we call myths, there is, among others, the fact that corona does not exist in hot countries, the rainy season will wash the virus, the virus is also transmitted by mosquitoes, there is no real case in Gabon, the government is lying to us etc.
 
For Cédrick Kenfack of Yali Gabon, “the propagation of this false information constitutes an obstacle to the response against this pandemic. Reason why we thought it useful to fight against this false information by using the comic strip as a means of communication ”

In addition to the fight against fake news, the project also gives an important place to barrier gestures and useful advice to avoid the disease. A section entitled “Guide to good practice” is devoted to this effect. Each tip is illustrated with characters and explanatory texts.

“The idea was also to pool our skills and resources for a common goal in a collective intelligence approach. This is why the project brought together several organizations. Each contributed according to their resources. One wrote the texts, the other coordinated and the design was done by another, “said Jerry Bibang, PAYNCoP Gabon Coordinator.

(click here for the original version in French)

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

PAYNCoP Gabon and Engineers Without Borders join forces to fight COVID 19

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

Sent to CPNN by Jerry Bibang

As part of the fight against COVID 19, the Youth Association for Development (JED), member of PAYNCoP Gabon, and the NGO Engineers Without Borders (ISF) yesterday, Wednesday, April 1, served the populations of the district behind the Ecole Normale Supérieure, in the 1st arrondissement of the commune of Libreville, with a station for hand-washing.

(click here for the original version in French.)

Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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The initiative is part of a project which consists of setting up handwashing stations in the under-integrated districts of Libreville and its surroundings, especially those experiencing difficulties in supplying drinking water. “The situation is more complex in these districts because access to drinking water is a real challenge for people, and sometimes they live together in small rooms, so it is difficult to respect the 1 meter distance. This is why we have targeted these areas,” said Darel Oliny, Executive Director of Engineers Without Borders in Gabon.

For Jerry Bibang, the National Coordinator of PAYNCoP Gabon, this is an action that supports the efforts of the Government in the fight against the pandemic which is currently ravaging. “The public authorities started the war against COVID 19, as citizens and patriots, it is up to us to stand up and go to the front against the common enemy” he added before inviting the residents to respect barrier gestures for better prevention.

After Behind the École Normale Supérieure, the Nzeng-Ayong district, in the 6th arrondissement of Libreville, will be the next step in this citizen initiative.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Angola promotes the role of African women in government

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Prensa Latina

Angola will continue to promote the empowerment of women and their participation in the government, said the Minister of State for the Social Area, Carolina Cerqueira, at a meeting of the Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO) held today [Feb 28] in Windhoek, Namibia.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version)

Question for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

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As the vice president of the PAWO, she also stressed that Angola encourages the role of women in promoting the culture of peace in the region, whether through institutional or civil society initiatives, as well as the creation of mechanisms to guarantee financial resources for the empowerment of the female sector.

According to the source, she also confirmed the solidarity and friendship that unite Angola and Namibia; a relationship, she said, of close ties throughout the history of the struggle for independence and economic and social development.

Angola’s presence in this congress, with a delegation composed of women from different sectors, including the diaspora, reflects the appreciation of Namibia and the importance that the country attaches to the PAWO, she said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the five regions of the African continent and was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
 

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Peace promotion in the Sahel: The best award-winning radio productions

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An article by Tiga Cheick Sawadogo in Le Faso

The Sahel Peace Promotion Program, implemented by the Norbert Zongo National Press Center, has celebated the best radio productions on peace on February 13, 2020 in Ouagadougou, the day of celebration of World Radio Day. In magazines, microprograms and round tables, the works of four journalists have been recognized above others from twelve radio stations.


The National Press Center Norbet Zongo implements with the support of EIRENE, the peace promotion program in the Sahel. In this context, twelve partner radios from the North Central, North and Central Plateau regions benefited from capacity building and technical support to produce programs related to peace.

To capitalize on the achievements of the program, a competition for the best radio productions on peace was launched. And 84 works were recorded by the jury made up of Jean Baptiste Ilboudo, Clémence Tuina and Smaïla Rabo.

“The task was not easy. We judged the relevance of the subject, the sound quality of the work, originality of the treatment, the quality of the music, the dressing… “, explained Clémence Tuina, representative of the members of the jury. For six days, the jury worked to decide between the candidates.

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Click here for the original version in French)

Question(s) related to this article:

African journalism and the Culture of Peace, A model for the rest of the world?

How can peace be promoted by radio?

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“The jury regrets, the low participation of candidates and radio stations, including only four radio stations out of the dozen concerned. He therefore recommends that organizers institute a mentoring system to monitor and galvanize the radios to be produced after IN SITU training. It also recommends that they continue to build the capacity of partner radios and provide them with production equipment (recorders).

The jury urged the radio managers to encourage and motivate their journalists to produce programs (round tables, magazines, microprograms, reports and surveys).

In the microprogram category, Boureima Ouédraogo of the radio station Voix du paysan de Ouahigouya was the winner with the title “living together”. “The work deals with peace, social cohesion, showing how different communities can accept each other and how people can work to promote peace. This award galvanizes us to work more in the promotion of peace. As radio producers, we are the spokespersons of the populations and in the current context of Burkina, we have an important role to play”, explained the winner.

In the round table category, it is also a rural voice who wins with Abdoulaye Sawadogo for his work entitled “contribution of religious leaders to cohesion, in a context of violent extremism”.

As for the best magazine, the winners, a duo of radio journalist Vénégré de Ziniaré Alfred Kagambèga and Toussaint Soré,
deal with land speculation in Loumbila,

The Sahel peace promotion program also named the best radio station. There too, it was Ziniaré’s Vénégré radio which stood out. “We appreciated the team spirit that prevailed on this radio. The radio has created a program called Voices for a Culture of Peace, a program which is hosted by different journalists in turn. The magazines are punctuated; there are several voices involved, the tasks are shared and we really liked it, ”explained Clémence Tuina.

All of the winners received prizes in kind, including computers, recorders and certificates.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Mali: consolidating peace between communities through cultural heritage

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Bamada

At the festival of living together, the opening solemnity under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Lassine Bouaré took place on January 17 and continues until January 22, 2020 in Timbuktu on the site of the monument of the flame of peace in Abaradjou.

The theme of this 4th edition is the “usefulness of heritage for the consolidation of peace”. It is a moment not only for reunion but also for cultural activities in the region of Timbuktu and culture of peace as a whole. It was born under the initiative of Salaha Maïga and funded by Munisma alone in 2016 and is hailed and supported by the authorities and the people of Timbuktu.

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(Click here for the French version of this article)

Question related to this article:

 

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

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According to the governor of the Timbuktu region Ahmed Kouena the festival promotes respect for dialogue, exchange between young people in the region and those from elsewhere in view of creating links between them friendship, fraternity, strengthening unity and social cohesion, while preserving our cultural identity. The organization of this event gives hope to all ethnic groups.

This 4th edition according to Salaha Maïga has been a great challenge. On the one hand, the city itself was abandoned and served as a dumping ground; on the other hand, this locality of the region, named Abaradjou is considered as “red zone” a regular attack zone. It has been a success because all the challenges have been met.

Salaha is requesting help from the state and goodwill and sponsors for the next few occasions. Hee said that so far we have no official sponsor. ” He thanked the youth and the local, national and international authorities, armed groups and the people of Timbuktu who took it to heart to honor this noble initiative.

The initiative is conceived because the local populations and lives have been decimated by deadly attacks and inter-community conflicts, and it aims to promote respect, cohesion, reconciliation and peace between individuals, communities, regions and the country.

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION