Government Leaders and Youth Advocate for Peace During Workshops in Tanzania

Naomi MacMurdie
June 29, 2022

Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Tanzania hosted local government leaders of the Tandahimba district at a peacebuilding workshop in May 2022. The program aimed to build conflict resolution skills and define peacebuilding roles in the local community asking the question, “What are the roles of local government leaders, religious leaders, police, parents and others when it comes to conflict resolution and peacebuilding?”

Tanzania peace workshop

Leadership workshop in the Tandahimba district

During the dialogue session, the guest of honor Mr. Francis T. Mkuti, the District Administrative Secretary (DAS), called on the government officials to discuss and have a consensus that will help build peace and community to overcome conflict. “I am very grateful to the Global Peace Foundation for continuing to bring together people from different groups, especially government and religious leaders,” said Mr. Mkuti. “This is a great step to help our community gain more understanding in avoiding conflict and coexistence. I officially open this workshop wishing you success, on behalf of the government, to continue to work together to eliminate any indicators of violence.”

During the workshop, three groups were formed and tasked with forming a recommendation to promote peacebuilding and mitigating conflict in the local community. Some suggestions presented by the groups included education on peace and how to resolve conflicts, monitoring and management in resolving conflicts in the community, reducing child marriage and addressing the growing number of children in the streets, to continue to provide religious teachings that promote peace, to provide entrepreneurship education to reduce unemployment, and making education centers more accessible to youth.

“Through this workshop we are sharing experiences, skills and knowledge on how to solve conflicts,” shared Mr. Mkuti. “As leaders, let us use our position we have in our community [to] spread peace messages and avoid any kind of violence.”

Tanzania peacebuilding

Youth and security officials play sports during peacebuilding workshop.

GPF Tanzania conducted a separate special training to more than 50 young people over two days in the same district. The workshop strived to empower young people to resolve conflicts and build peace in their community. Youth discussed how to report indicators of violence in their communities and methods of cooperation with security agencies.

Throughout the training, young representatives from different groups came together to share their experiences and create a network of effective cooperation on conflict resolution. The training was supervised by GPF representative Benson Daud and Elvis Namajojo. By inviting leaders from the police force, gender welfare, immigration and religion, the workshop participants were provided a well-rounded perspective of the challenges in their communities, especially the indicators of violence on the border between Tanzania and Mozambique where a large wave of illegal and unscrupulous activities can cause a ripple effect of violence and instability throughout Tanzania.

Thirty young people were selected to participate in a separate training for Youth Peace Ambassadors. The ongoing efforts strive to raise young leaders from diverse backgrounds with a strong connection and a network to address violence and build peace.

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