Peacebuilding in Africa III
Increasing civil society engagement
This Shorthand Social story was Live! This story provides a visual and interactive overview of the immediate outcomes from this event. This story was compiled as the event unfolded with Tweets, video, images and audio!
Title image: serengeti sunrise, Yoni Lerner
WHAT NEXT FOR PEACEBUILDING IN AFRICA?
In March 2017, we hosted the third event in our #AfricanPeacebuilding series.
The recent series of conflicts in Africa – notably in Central African Republic, Mali, and South Sudan – has highlighted the challenging nature of the peace and security landscape and the necessity to involve all experts; scholars, policymakers and practitioners, in this process.
Since the end of the Cold War, attention to the roles that local civil society actors can play in peacebuilding and the possibilities of international support to their efforts has increased. The third event in the series explored the relationship between civil society and African peacebuilding and identify ways forward.
Our series aims to generate dialogue around African perspectives on peacebuilding in Africa. This event brought together 27 citizens from 11 African countries, alongside stakeholders from the UK, the United States, Canada and Belgium.
Hover over each country to discover the number of participants.
The Story So Far
We spoke to representatives from three organisations who are at the heart of the series, asking for their perspectives on the discussions so far.
The event
This article was live, was updated with content from the event as it unfolded.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
We asked our participants about the biggest opportunities or hindrances to sustainable civil society engagement in the African peacebuilding process.
Civil society's role in promoting sustainable peace - Podcast
We discuss if the continent is less or more peaceful that it was, whether Governments working in harmony with civil society can bring about a resolution and if civil society engagement is always helpful.
"Conflicts are less between states and more within states"
"The peace that is usually under-played or under-talked about is the role of the people on the ground who, are on a daily basis, engaging either with communities who are affected by conflict, or even, interfacing with those who are fighting"
Contributors:
Shuvai Nyoni, Executive Director, African Leadership Centre (ALC), Nairobi
Cyril Obi, Program Director, African Peacebuilding Network (APN), Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York
Women, peace and security
ALC Radio
The African Leadership Centre at King's College London independently conducted an interview with Comfort Lamptey - Regional Adviser on Governance, Peace and Security, Regional Office for West and Central Africa at UN Women - on the 'Status of Women Peace and Security in West Africa'.
"There is a particular need for women to re-tune their strategies for dealing with peace and security, in order to be able to address these new threats"
"During conflict we see an extreme manifestation of threats to women's rights"
''By inviting me to this conference at Wilton Park, I have been given an opportunity to just sit and listen and think about issues concerning violence and peace in Africa in new ways, and to interact with leading international experts in the fields of civil society and African peacebuilding.''
- Diana Gibson, African Peacebuilding Network grantee
The above quote is taken from an interview with Professor Diana Gibson, an African Peacebuilding Network (APN) grantee: 'Life as an APN Grantee: An Interview with Diana Gibson', conducted by APN.
Peacebuilding in Africa II
Click on our 'Peacebuilding in Africa II' shorthand to discover more about the previous event in the series.
Commonwealth Day 2017: A Peace-building Commonwealth
Monday 13 March marked Commonwealth Day 2017. The theme: 'A Peace-building Commonwealth'.
It presents an opportunity for individuals, communities and organisations to promote the Commonwealth's shared values of peace, democracy and equality, and to celebrate the association's rich diversity.
We are delighted that Myn Garcia, Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Foundation can bring her expertise to our discussions.
Watch this space for our interview with Myn during our event!
What next for Peacebuilding in Africa?