Never Again Rwanda (NAR) in Partnership with GIZ hosted a Regional Public Speaking and exchange, where youth from Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Burundi came together to discuss issues hindering peace in their various settings, reflecting on possible solutions and how to overcome them in their respective communities through the performance of speeches and creative pieces. The exchange run under the theme “Peace starts with me: How can I use creativity to tackle the issues hindering peace in our schools and communities.
Youth were also treated to a week of learning the techniques and skills used to deliver effective presentations, dealing with stereotypes, critical thinking, and alternatives to violence, which are useful for their respective communities in the Great Lakes region.
In his introductory notes, the Head of Programs, Eric Mahoro, at Never Again Rwanda, underscored that it is important for the youth to take part in peacebuilding processes while using the existing spaces for discussion and reflecting on their role in promoting peace in their families, schools, and communities. He also called on participants to take the ideas back to their schools, communities, and regions in order to enable their peers and citizens to also benefit from the exchange.
The Advisor to the Huye District Executive Committee, Mr. Joseph Kagabo noted that there is hope for the future to see if youth can share how to deal with conflicts in their communities “There is hope for the future to see young people talking about peace. It is our responsibility to help them to take up leadership roles as a pillar towards sustainable peace”.
The GIZ/ZFD Coordinator Mr. Hans Bretschneider, also expressed his gratitude in seeing more regional countries continue to participate in the conversation about peace and conflict prevention, thus reemphasized GIZ’s commitment to support in cultivating peace values in the Great Lakes Region.
Through public speaking and exchange, youth discuss issues deterring peace processes in their communities and in turn propose solutions to building peace. These are some of the excerpts from the performances:
“We are convinced that what divides us is less important than what unites us. So deconstructing stereotypes is one of the challenges to overcome in order to achieve peace.”
“It is time for us to stop looking outside for solutions to our conflicts. We are the key to delivering peace in our region.”
“Schools should establish strong mechanisms to eradicate bullying and deconstruct stereotypes amongst the students by setting up peace clubs”.
The youth participants were encouraged to continue the discussion and to take part in debates and conversations related to the challenges to peace in the Great Lakes Region since peacebuilding needs the will and engagement of everyone concerned.