West Africa Program Update

Program Overview Sierra Leone: Talking Drum Studio 12 regular programs 3 studio locations Community Peacebuilding Unit Youth Community Radio Peace Carnivals and Tours Liberia: Talking Drum Studio 12 regular programs TINAMENIMA (Community Services Unit) Peace and Reconciliation Workshops Drama Outreach

Sierra Leone Case Study: Makeni Peace Carnival December 30, 2002-January 1, 2003

Makeni Peace Carnival Objective: To provide a forum for the community to focus on growing levels of violence in Makeni: at schools, on sports fields, in homes

Background Makeni—former RUF stronghold, with large excombatant population SFCG-SL holds outreach events to promote partnership and peacebuilding and develop local capacity Annual Peace Carnival in Bo every Easter Steady Bongo Peace Tour (2) Makeni wanted a similar event

Coalition of Planners: National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration The Police The Army The Drivers’ Association The Cassette Sellers’ Association Sierra Leone Teachers Union Radio Mankneh Several Youth Groups

Established Action Committees Organizing–overall planning, coordination and implementation Grounds–demarcation of field for booths Security–made up of Police, Army, youth, and community members Finance–proceeds from the gates Ticket–sales of tickets Publicity–posters, banners, and advertising

Purpose of committees The committees established local ownership of and responsibility for the event Provided community-based direction to strategy Developed local capacity Each committee had representatives of various stakeholders

Together the stakeholders developed a theme for the peace carnival: Maintaining Law and Order in a Post-conflict Society

Carnival Components 5 drama troupes 7 cultural groups 36 booths Steady Bongo and the Cultural Heroes Live broadcasting Rehabilitation of field hosting the event

Issues Addressed Law and order Domestic violence Local government structures Role of media in conflict resolution Violence in schools and sports HIV/AIDS Local Partnership Board-roles and responsibilities

Local Partnership Board (LPB) Established as a community-based organization LPB received 80% of the revenue from the event Revenue to be used for a community development project Report to the community required on how much money was used on what to ensure transparency and accountability

Hugely Successful! 20,000 people attended 10Million Leones generated 15 local organizations involved 3 days of festivities, 14 hours a day 1000’s of kudos!

Liberia Case Study: Bong County Peace and Reconciliation Workshop October 31-November 10, 2002

Background 3 rd in a series of workshops between ethnic groups in Liberia’s southeastern counties Ethnicity has been exploited by political factions Lofa County conflict has largely been fueled by ethnicity this series is to prevent a similar occurrence in the southeast

Workshops Held March 2001 Sinoe County: Sarpos and Krus March 2002 Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties: Gios, Manos and Krahns October-November 2002 Bong County: Gios, Manos, Kpelles, Lormas, and Mandingos

Targeted Counties October 2002 March 2002 March 2001

October-November Workshop Originally scheduled for early summer, but delayed by politically-driven ethnic tension against Mandingos Format: 3 small plenary workshops: each between Mandingos and one other ethnic group Final large workshop among all participating ethnic groups

Purpose of the Plenary Sessions Identified and defined the conflict Confronted immediate distrust and suspicion between groups Laid groundwork for a frank discussion of issues Facilitated the beginning development of relationships

Full Workshop Included representatives from each ethnic group Discussion addressed: stereotypes negative and positive experiences with ethnic preference perceived qualities and characteristics of each ethnic group TDS taped dialogue and interviews throughout to share with a national audience

Observations and Results Delegates came to the meeting open to discussion and genuinely seeking peace Parties took ground rules very seriously, enforcing the rules themselves Delegates recognized that despite solid progress, only the surface on these conflicts has been touched, especially as ethnic tensions are exacerbated for political gain

Observations and Results cont. The group achieved maximum capacity in participation The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Bong County’s Superintendent sent letters to all tribal governors asking that they each send 5 member delegations Indicated incredible interest in building peace between ethnic groups

Fun Finale To wrap up the workshop, TINAMENIMA held a fun soccer match between community members, the joint security forces and local government leaders