ICGLR summit on formal peace education in the Great Lakes Region

Dates: 3-4 March 2016

Venue: Heron Court Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

On 3-4 March 2016, key stakeholders from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda will participate in a Peace Education Summit, co-organized by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), UNESCO and Interpeace at the Heron Court Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

The aim of the two-day Summit is to promote a harmonized understanding of formal peace education in the region, which has over the past five decades suffered some of the world deadliest and most intractable conflicts.

Writing in a recent op-ed published by the East African newspaper ahead of the summit, ICGLR Executive Secretary, His Excellency Professor Ntumba Luaba, described the dire effects of the civil wars, genocides and cross-border conflicts that have afflicted the region. Professor Luaba decried the fact that the youth have often been at the centre of these conflicts, which claimed over six million civilian lives since the 1990s alone and have produced the world’s highest number of fatalities since the Second World War.

“Young people have conspicuously been active participants in the hundreds of armed groups that have traversed the region since independence in the 1960s, operating across sovereign borders with an unsettling ease and leaving great devastation in their wake,” Professor Ntumba wrote.

The summit’s focus on youth and formal peace education is informed by two occasions. The first is an Extraordinary Summit of ICGLR Heads of States on Youth Unemployment, held on 24 July 2014 in Nairobi, which emphasized the important role of the youth in the pursuit of peace, security and stability within the region. The second is a research study carried out in 2014 by Interpeace and six partner organisations in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Among other important findings, the research showed that the people in the three countries generally identified ethnic and nationalistic animosities as a fundamental impediment to peace in the region and endorsed the adoption of formal peace education as a crucial step towards strengthening existing peacebuilding efforts, and more importantly helping in the prevention of conflict among future generations.

Participants in the summit will include high level officials from government ministries responsible for education and youth affairs from the four countries, as well as Peace Education experts from UNESCO. The summit will also seek to identify key challenges for peace education within these countries, as well as at the regional level, and to discuss ways of addressing these challenges.

Media contacts:

MacDonald Mwakasendile
Director of Communications,
ICGLR,
Tel: +25779856659
Email: macdonald.mwakasendile@icglr.org
press@icglr.org ;
Twitter: @_icglr

Philip Emase
Communications Officer, Eastern & Central Africa, Interpeace
Tel: +254722801966
Email: emase@interpeace.org
Twitter: @InterpeaceECA

More inclusive ways to peace: The role of women in constitution-making processes

Too often women find themselves excluded from the peace-making process. But at the same time many women have been able to make a significant impact on statebuilding in their own country.

How do we ensure that women’s voices are heard and that many more women can participate in re-shaping their countries' future?

The More Inclusive Ways to Peace panel features women and men from different backgrounds and professions who will share their own experiences of working within constitution-making processes around the globe.

The goal of the event is to underline that sustainable peace can be built if the process is inclusive and all voices are heard equally. This is the central message of the Interpeace’s Constitution-Making for Peace Programme.

The panel is co-organized by Interpeace and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations in Geneva.

You are welcome to join the panel event on Thursday January 12, 2015, from 9:30 to 11:00 CET at the Espace Henry Dunant, Musée international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge in Geneva, Switzerland.

PANELISTS

Fatima Outaleb – Founder of Union de l’Action Féminine
Farooq Wardaq – Former Minister of Education, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Louise Kasser Genecand – Attaché for Intercantonal affairs. Presidential department of the Canton of Geneva
Michele Brandt – Director of Interpeace’s Constitution-Making for Peace Programme
Sapana Pradhan Malla – Gender advisor to the Prime Minister of Nepal
H.E. Ms. Pamela Hamamoto – Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva

More information, including the full biographies of the panelists, is available here.

Correspondents and journalists interested in talking with individual speakers and event organizers prior to or after the event, please contact:
Alexandre Munafò, Global Engagement Officer
munafo@interpeace.org
T : +4122 404 59 21
M : +4179 272 73 22

About Interpeace: Interpeace is an independent, international peacebuilding organization and a strategic partner of the United Nations. Interpeace works with local partner organizations in 21 countries with the aim of building long term peace. The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It has regional offices in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire); Guatemala City (Guatemala); Nairobi (Kenya); and representation offices in Brussels (Belgium); New York (USA).

Media advisory - The 2015 Nairobi Peace Talks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE 2015 NAIROBI PEACE TALKS

12 November 2015, at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Conference Room 1
Time: 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm

At a time when global headlines are dominated by the consequences of violent conflicts, the first ever Nairobi Peace Talks will be held on 12 November 2015 at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). The event, jointly organised by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and Interpeace, will bring together people from various parts of the country and from different backgrounds, all sharing their personal stories and experiences in the promotion of peace.

Speakers at the event will among others include Hon. Yusuf Hassan, Member of Parliament for Kamukunji; Dr. Abbas Gullet, Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross Society; Josephine Kulea of the Samburu Girls Foundation (SGF); Hip-hop artist Juliani; Francis Kariuki, the “Tweeting Chief” from Lanet Umoja; Writer Zarina Patel; Peace Artist Solomon “Solo 7” Muyundo; Grassroots Peacebuilder Selline Korir; and Godfrey Odongo, the Deputy President of the National Children's Government.

Held under the theme ‘I Contribute to Peace’, the Nairobi Peace Talks aim to inspire broad reflection on how everyone has a role to play in promoting peace. This event will mark the first time the Peace Talks are held in Kenya. Speakers from all over the country will highlight how every individual can contribute to peace in their own unique ways, such as by building bridges between communities and pursuing mutual understanding. The Nairobi Peace Talks will be moderated by journalist Victoria Rubadiri.

The Peace Talks are an event series where speakers from different sectors share their personal stories, ideas and practical solutions to build peace. They began in 2013, with the first ever Geneva Peace Talks being co-organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and Interpeace.

More information on the Nairobi Peace Talks, including the bios of the speakers, is available here.

Accredited correspondents are most welcome to attend. Please note that registration is mandatory. You are invited to register online until Monday 9 November at rsvp@interpeace.org. Please remember to include your full names and ID or passport numbers to facilitate your entry into the UN Complex at Gigiri. There will be a media bus departing at 2.00 pm from Kencom in downtown Nairobi. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be also streamed live on http://peacetalks.net and can be followed on the Twitter hashtag #NairobiPeaceTalks.

Correspondents and journalists interested in talking with individual speakers and event organizers prior to or after the Nairobi Peace Talks please contact:

Media contacts:

Philip Emase,
Communications Officer, Eastern & Central Africa, Interpeace
Tel: +254722801966
emase@interpeace.org
Twitter: @InterpeaceECA

Rosemary Were
National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC)
Tel: +254723404676
rwere@cohesion.or.ke
Twitter: @NCIC_Kenya

Geneva Peace Talks to be held on 18 September 2015 at the Palais des Nations

It's time for peace!

Geneva Peace Talks 2015 to be held on 18 September 2015 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva

At a time when headlines are dominated by the consequences of war and violent conflicts, the 2015 Geneva Peace Talks will bring together people from different backgrounds – including a refugee living in Europe, a member of the Italian coastguard, and speakers from such countries as Syria, South Sudan and Sweden – to share their timely stories and practical solutions for resolving conflict.

The third edition of the Geneva Peace Talks, a public event organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and Interpeace on the occasion of the International Day of Peace, will be held on Friday, 18 September 2015 from 16:30-18:30 in Room XIX at the Palais des Nations.

Following the successful inaugural event in 2013 and a second edition in 2014, the theme of this year’s Geneva Peace Talks is “It’s time for peace!” Speakers will share innovative ways to strengthen peace and prevent violent conflict now and in the future. The event will provide an opportunity to look at past peace efforts, learn more about current initiatives and draw conclusions for the future of peacebuilding.

Speakers come from violent and divided societies and have diverse personal backgrounds such as science and business, and include seasoned peacebuilding practitioners, activists and volunteers. They will share their personal experiences and how they are trying to make a difference in building peace. More information, including bios of the speakers, is available here.

Accredited correspondents are most welcome to attend. Please note that registration is mandatory. You are invited to register online until Tuesday, 15 September 2015 here. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be streamed live on webtv.un.org and http://peacetalks.net.

Correspondents and journalists interested in talking with individual speakers and event organizers prior to or after the Geneva Peace Talks please contact:
- Rhéal LeBlanc, United Nations Information Service, Tel. +41 (0)22 917 23 36, Email: rleblanc@unog.ch
-Tom Peyre-Costa, Interpeace, Tel: T +41 (0)22 404 59 24; Mobile: +41 (0) 76 433 12 32; E-mail: peyre-costa@interpeace.org

National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to sign MoU with Interpeace

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and Interpeace will on Wednesday, 12 November 2014, sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), aimed at facilitating joint collaboration in peacebuilding work, at the Nairobi Serena Hotel at 6.00 PM.

The MOU will be signed by Hon. Francis Ole Kaparo, Chairman of the NCIC, and the Interpeace Director for Eastern and Central Africa (ECA), Johan Svensson, in the presence of President John Kufuor, former President of Ghana and Chairman of the Interpeace Governing Council. The signing ceremony will form part of the activities around the Interpeace Governing Council’s November 2014 visit to Nairobi.

The NCIC and Interpeace first established contact in 2011, gradually evolving their relationship into an envisioned partnership in which Interpeace will share its two decades of technical experience in peace building with the NCIC – a commission with a national mandate of promoting peaceful co-existence among people of different ethnic groups in Kenya . The signing of this MOU will formalise the NCIC’s partnership with Interpeace and pave way for collaboration in a pilot peacebuilding project in Mandera, a County in North Eastern Kenya that faces critical development and security challenges.

The NCIC is a government agency created to address and reduce inter-ethnic conflicts. Its mandate includes advocating for cohesiveness among the diverse groups in the country and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of ethnicity. The Commission seeks to achieve deliberate normative, institutional and attitudinal processes of constructing nationhood, national cohesion and integration as an avenue towards lasting peace, sustainable development and harmonious coexistence among the Kenyan people.

Interpeace is an independent, international peacebuilding organisation created by the United Nations in 1994 as a peacebuilding pilot project. In 2000 the project transitioned to an independent non-profit organisation, maintaining a strategic partnership with the United Nations. Chaired by Ghana's former President John Kufuor, Interpeace currently supports peacebuilding initiatives in 21 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe and the Middle East. The Interpeace regional office for East and Central Africa, based in Nairobi since 2006, supports peacebuilding efforts in Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Somali Region.

Media contacts:
Philip Emase, Communications Officer ( Eastern & Central Africa ) - Interpeace
Tel: +254 72 280 1966
Email: emase@interpeace.org

Sellah King'oro, Assistant Director – Research, Policy and Planning, NCIC
Tel: +254 72 439 0819
Email: skingoro@cohesion.or.ke