Community members and decision makers in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC (North & South Kivu, Kinshasa)

5 local NGOs are direct implementers of the project, 2 in DRC, 1 in Burundi, 1 in Rwanda and 1 in Uganda:

Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN) in Rwanda; Centre d’Alerte et de Prévention des Conflits (CENAP) in Burundi ; Action pour la paix et la concorde (APC) in South Kivu, Pole Institute, in North Kivu ; and an implementing partner in Uganda to be defined.  

Outcome 1:    Young women and men increase their socio-economic capacities, their leadership in domestic and regional peacebuilding processes, and are able to apply its skills through intergenerational and cross-cultural exchanges.

Outcome 2:    Young women and men apply their strengthened knowledge and skills to undertake concrete conflict resolution and mediation initiatives nationally and regionally, and seize advocacy opportunities to articulate their vision for peace in decision-making processes.

Outcome 3:    Decision makers and peacebuilding institutions at the regional, national and/or local levels effectively integrate youth interests in policies, processes and/or interventions.

Principaux résultats attendus:  

-    At least 240 young women and men are selected and trained as mediators, facilitators and peacebuilders; a regional taskforce guiding the implementation of youth initiatives is created and at least 10 meetings are carried out;

-    At least 180 cross-cultural and intergenerational activities engaging 5400 community members (40 participants per session) are carried out to address recurring behavioral patterns still hindering reconciliation, like transgenerational transmission of trauma, of stereotypes, mistrust or hate;

-    At least 60 youth are trained in the development of youth initiatives to promote social change through a series of at least three in person, and two distance training and mentorship sessions engaging civil society and governmental actors ;

-    A coordination mechanism (CM) including Interpeace and key stakeholders is created and support youth to effectively advocate for their interests and needs; existing capacities, challenges and opportunities concerning conflict management and mediation structures are identified through a comprehensive mapping of conflict management and mediation structures at the domestic and regional levels;

-    Regional experience sharing trips are organized for the 60 young innovators in other contexts/countries than theirs; at least 5 regional peacebuilding summits are organized in the region.

Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

Local and independent initiatives are undertaken by communities to build resilience capacities and social cohesion (games, sport, joint visits, …);

Permanent dialogue Groups (GDPs) engaged decision makers to take decisions in the interest of communities, like abolishing illegal fines at borders; GDPs serve as a safe space for conflict mediation between communities and engage decision makers on peacebuilding and social cohesion issues;

Community members have been trained on peace building issues and use these skills to advocate on issues; GDPs were identified as a best practice of the previous phase. They successfully engaged with relevant stakeholders (community members, CSOs, private sector, religious leaders, decision makers) to influence decisions and promote peaceful resolutions of conflicts and the rule of law;

The program has witnessed youth-led initiatives demonstrate their effectiveness in counteracting stereotypes and inter-generational transmission of hatred and conflict; the evaluation recommended to engage youth for having actively taken up peace resolution in communities and continued involvement will further peace in the region.