. . 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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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.