Join The Peace Cabal: A 6-Week Online Bootcamp for African Teenagers
If we have learned one thing about conflict during the last decade, it’s that it is here to stay: our world is naturally full of conflict.
Unfortunately, in our communities what we see is that conflict is often handled through violent means: manipulation, threats, fighting, and force. Yet violence doesn’t address the underlying interests, rather it further alienates adversaries and decreases opportunities for negotiation and resolution.
Nigeria suffers from a variety of complex problems including insurgency, inequality, corruption, oil disputes, and national disunity. About 35,000 people have been killed in the North, with more than two million left homeless and hundreds have been abducted in the conflict.
Violence has also intensified in rural areas between Fulani herdsmen and farmers amid claims of trespassing and sabotage, not forgetting that the Niger Delta has also been the scene of serious violence.
All of these are not entirely surprising, given the lack of education we receive on alternative dispute resolution approaches to conflict in our personal, social, and political lives. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (UNSCR 2250) is the first resolution on youth, peace, and security. Adopted by the UN Security Council in 2015, the resolution emphasizes the importance of youth as agents of change in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.
Considering that 65% of the population on the African continent consists of young people, it is becoming increasingly more important that, rather than seeing young people as agents of conflict and destruction, they are seen as agents of peace, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and advocates for social cohesion in their communities. Peace education is central to preventing young people from being attracted to violent extremist ideologies, organizations, and movements and effective conflict resolution must play a central role.
Teaching people from young ages about conflict dynamics and violence prevention in both their personal and social lives will help raise a population that is less likely to engage in violent extremism and warfare.
This is the problem the “PEACE CABAL” project aims to solve.
🧐 Vision
The vision is to ensure that young adults are equipped with knowledge that encourages personal development and skills to navigate conflict – personally and globally – confidently.
✌🏿 Mission
The mission is to create a community for young adults to be taught personal and soft skills to turn conflict into an opportunity using the principles of creative cooperation.
📌 Objectives
- To prepare young adults for building a peaceful world by empowering them with the necessary knowledge, attitudes, and skills
- To create awareness among the youths towards the social action
- To create a better learning environment where conflict and healthy relationships may be explored
🎯 Focus Areas
Personal Development
- Effective Communication
- Emotional Intelligence
- Stress and Anger Management
- Leadership and Decision Making
Peace Education
- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Skills
- Building the Peace Culture
Inclusion in Social Action
- Introduction to Sustainable Development Goals
- Participation in the actualization of SDGs
💻 Training Environment
- Social Media Platform – Zoom
- A highly interactive facilitator-led training
- 25 Participants for each Cohort
⏳ Length of Training
- 6 Weeks divided into sessions
- Pace also depends on the audience; facilitators may choose to moderate the pace allowing extra time for some sessions
📅 Schedule of Training
Week 1 – Emotional Intelligence in Building a Culture of Peace: Effective Communication and Anger Management
August 15th-16th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Week 2 – Young Leaders for Peace: Leadership Development
August 22nd-23rd, 2020, 4-6 pm
Week 3 – Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Skill for Healthy Relationship
August 29th-30th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Week 4 – Building the Peace Culture: Youths as Agents of Peace in Nigeria
September 5th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Introduction to Sustainable Development Goals
September 6th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Week 5: Team Project Presentation
September 12th -13th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Week 6: Graduation and Presentation of Awards
September 20th, 2020, 4-6 pm
Early Feedback
About Oluwaseun Kolawole and the Facilitators
Oluwaseun is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators. She holds a degree in Policy and Strategic Studies and currently a graduate student of Peace and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria’s Premier University and previously interned with the United Nations in Lagos, Nigeria.
Her core interests are the inclusion of women in decision making and peace processes, in both the workplace and political sphere, as well as equal rights to education for the girls, and the participation of youths in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2018, she founded KIRA Beauty Palace, an organic skincare brand where she has been able to design and execute a sales strategy that has led the business to grow significantly in less than 2 years.
Oluaseun’s community service project focuses on empowering youths to speak up against injustice and promote peace through negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
