| East Africa Youth Training Program |
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Youth Training Program on Democratic Leadership and Conflict Resolution
(Nairobi, Kenya, 12-17 December 2004)
REPORT
SUMMARY
The Training Program on Democratic Leadership and Conflict Resolution, entitled “Empowering Young Democracy Activists in East Africa,” brought together 19 participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The participants are young leaders of civil society organizations that promote democracy in their respective countries. The program was organized by two networks affiliated with the World Movement for Democracy, the Africa Democracy Forum (ADF) and the Youth Movement for Democracy, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Secretariat for the ADF, provided logistical support. The training was conducted by Dr. Hizkias Assefa.
The training program provided practical skills and theoretical knowledge about the connections between conflict resolution, peace-building, and democracy. The participants also visited several democracy organizations in Nairobi and improved their understanding of how to transform ideas into projects and implement them. Through the five-day training, the participants deepened their understanding of conflict resolution and peace-building in Africa in connection with democracy; developed their capacity to analyze conflict situations; and explored various ways of incorporating the knowledge from the training into their own activities in their respective communities and countries. Moreover, the program helped the participants to broaden their perspectives on peace-building and democracy in Africa and to develop their personal commitment to and visions for democracy in Africa.
TRAINING PROGRAM
The training program took place at Hotel Milimani in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 12 – 17, 2004. The training was conducted by Dr. Hizkias Assefa of Ethiopia, coordinator of Africa Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Network. (Please see his bio attached.) Mr. Clayton Lillienfeldt of South Africa, with the Youth Movement for Democracy, developed the training manual, part of which was distributed and discussed during the training.
The program began with an opening dinner on December 12, 2004, and Mr. Anthony Kuria, Africa Democracy Forum coordinator based in Nairobi, made brief remarks, welcoming all the participants and introducing the Africa Democracy Forum to them. On behalf of the Youth Movement for Democracy’s Working Group, Mr. Ryota Jonen of the World Movement for Democracy Secretariat also briefed the participants about the Youth Movement for Democracy and its planned activities for 2005, encouraging them to take part in those activities.
The agenda of the training program included various issues and skills of conflict resolution, peace-building, and democracy in Africa; democratic leadership skills; and discussions of follow-up activities. (Please see the training agenda attached.) The training was very interactive, and included a number of group discussions and simulations, as well as lectures and presentations by Dr. Assefa. Many of the discussions made references to the situations in the participants’ own countries.
Unlike training in election monitoring skills, for example, training in democratic leadership requires an emphasis on enhancing understanding of issues around conflict and democracy and developing personal visions for peace building and democratic society. Therefore, this program focused on deepening participants’ understanding, strengthening their skills for analyzing issues, and developing their vision for peace and democracy in their countries and region.
Understanding Conflict and Deepening Values of Peace and Democracy
By analyzing the root causes of large-scale conflicts in Africa at the political, economic, and socio-cultural levels, the participants gained an understanding of how the nature of conflict in Africa, governance, and political leadership are all linked. Among the root causes of conflict that the participants identified are: greed and selfishness of political leaders; a lack of shared political visions; personalized political parties; external (international) manipulation; unequal distribution of wealth and land; poverty; the “curse” of mineral and natural resources; and globalization. The participants also discussed the ways in which religion, traditional culture, ethnicity, and language can contribute to conflict, often through political manipulation. To address these causes of conflict in Africa and seek resolution, the participants discussed the importance of “mutual participation in search of solutions,” which is crucial for democracy.
The trainer deepened the participants' knowledge of the concept of peace, which includes "peace as no war," "peace as tranquility," and "peace as conflict transformation." Specifically, the program focused on the values of “peace as conflict transformation” in connection with democratic governance. The core value of peace entails justice and “mutuality.” Regarding justice, participants discussed crucial elements of reconciliation. “Mutuality” includes respect, love, security, power, and wealth, where power is not “struggle,” but “empowerment.” In discussing these values, the participants broadened their perspectives on peace and conflict resolution and gained an understanding of peace as “a mutually enriching socio-cultural value,” which is a key for building a democratic society.
Practical Skill for Analyzing and Resolving Conflict
The value of mutuality was demonstrated during the session on negotiation skills. Dr. Assefa described the differences between bargaining and negotiation, and pointed out that most political negotiations taking place around the world are actually in the form of bargaining. However, those negotiations, he emphasized, should take a problem-solving approach based on a mutual/collaborative relationship between parties. Through exercises, the participants learned the basic steps of such a problem-solving approach, and how to develop a mutual relationship, including building trust, understanding, empathy, and transparency.
After being equipped with the knowledge and skills of conflict transformation, the participants were asked to analyze their own respective countries by answering the following questions: “What needs to happen in your respective countries to move toward effective reconciliation and to develop a democratic society?” “What is in place?” “What is lacking?” “What needs to be done to address the gap?” By discussing the meaning of peace and democracy and analyzing their respective cases, the participants developed and shared an understanding that both conflict resolution and democracy provide those at the grassroots level with the space to discuss and develop ideas about their lives.
Dr. Assefa presented an entire peace-building process, and demonstrated its linkages to developing a democratic society, by focusing on the case of violent ethnic conflict in Taraba and Benue States in Nigeria. This case study provided deep insights into how a peace process was developed and how a peace agreement was reached and written. The participants studied how different ethnic, religious, and social groups were involved in the peace process and how conflicting parties began to transform their violent conflict into a mutually enriching socio-cultural environment. The case study showed the importance of “chemistry” between the conflicting parties in conflict transformation. The participants also analyzed the peace agreement by identifying the implications of the values of peace, reconciliation, and democratic governance.
Being an effective democratic leader requires knowing oneself. The training program therefore also discussed personal styles of handling conflict and leadership patterns, such as avoidance, accommodation, bargaining, problem solving, and using force. Through program exercises, the participants examined themselves with a view to determining how they themselves deal with conflict and communicate with other people. Knowing their own styles can help the participants become more effective leaders in their respective organizations and communities.
General Discussion
Before the training program ended, a session for overall review was held to give the participants a chance to ask any questions about conflict resolution, peace building, and democracy. During this session, the following issues were discussed:
* suitable environments for mediation and the peace-building process;
* positive and negative roles of media in a peace-building process; * establishing effective early-warning mechanisms and indicators of potential conflict; * the importance of human elements, such as identity and emotion, in a peace-building process; and * the importance of developing personal integrity and compassion for the sake of good democratic leadership.
Moving Forward
On the last day of the training program the participants were asked to group themselves according to their countries and to develop a list of practical and realistic follow-up activities that they could conduct in their own personal capacity, with their affiliated organizations, and as the entire group of participants. The following is a consolidated list of the follow-up activities that they would engage in:
In addition to the general follow-up activities, the participants developed a list of activities that would be organized in connection with a World Youth Day for Democracy, which the Youth Movement for Democracy is organizing for mid-2005.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES During the program, several activities were organized to enable the participants to explore the practical implications of the knowledge and skills that they learned during the training, and to learn more about each others’ work and that of democracy activists from Kenya and other East African countries. The activities included: project visits; a discussion with young Kenyan human rights activists; presentations of participants’ work; discussions of World Movement networks; and a speech by Chairman of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights.
Project Visits
One aspect in the program the participants found highly useful were the visits to Nairobi-based NGOs. Four organizations that work to promote democracy in Kenya and the East Africa region kindly agreed to host up to five participants each to provide an opportunity to learn about their activities, particularly how to conceptualize, develop, and implement projects. The four organizations were: the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), the Africa Youth Parliament (AYP), the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), and the Center for International Development – State University of New York (SUNY). These NGOs focus on different aspects of democracy promotion work: human rights advocacy, youth political participation, legal aid to victims of human rights violations, and strengthening parliaments in East Africa, respectively. The participants gained practical information about democracy promotion work and effectively identified the linkages between those activities and the values, knowledge, and skills that they learned through the training program. Encouraged by the lively civil society work in Kenya, they developed important contacts with those organizations for possible future collaboration.
Joint Discussion with Young Kenyan Activists.
During the training program, the African Youth Parliament and the Kenya Human Rights Commission also facilitated discussions among the training participants and 70 young Kenyan human rights activists to share their perspectives on challenges that young activists face in democracy work. Before joining the participants, the Kenyans held a separate discussion to examine the challenges specific to Kenyan youth and to develop strategies for overcoming the marginalization of youth in mainstream political processes. In the joint session, all the participants stressed the importance of encouraging and mobilizing young people to participate in political discussions and processes. Issues such as HIV/AIDS, traditional values, and access to information were also discussed. This session enabled all the participants, particularly about 20 Kenyans who came from remote rural areas in Kenya, to inspire each other and build solidarity among them.
At the end of the discussion, all the participants
 joined the Kenyans in a march to the Freedom Corner in Nairobi. To symbolize their commitment to human rights, democracy, and peace building in the East Africa region, they held a tree-planting ceremony during which the training participants and the young Kenyan activists interacted with each other to discuss various issues informally. This helped establish greater solidarity among them and will serve as a foundation for their future collaboration.
Presentations of Participants' Work
An informal evening session on the 15th included presentations by some participants about their organizations' work. The participants thus learned not only about each others’ work, but also about the political and social situations in their neighboring countries. In addition to their oral presentations, many participants distributed their publications and brochures. A Sudanese participant presented a Power-Point presentation on his organization’s structure and activities, and a participant from Somaliland showed a documentary film on his organization’s voter education program for Somaliland’s first elections in April 2003.
Evening Discussion on the Emerging Network on Conflict Resolution and Democracy
Informal evening sessions were held on December 13 and 15 to discuss the development of a Network on Conflict Resolution and Democracy. The following are the points and suggestions that emerged from the discussions:
Special Guest Speaker PARTICIPANTS' EVALUATIONS The evaluation of the training was conducted at the end of the program, and had three objectives: to evaluate the contents/quality of the training program; to measure the level of the participants’ understanding of the issues and skills covered at the training; and to seek the participants’ insight into how to improve the program for the future.
In general, most of the participants found the training program very informative and helpful. They pointed out that the program gave them adequate theoretical knowledge and practical skills to analyze and deal with issues of conflict in their respective countries and in the East Africa region. The evaluations indicate that the most useful topics covered during the training were the meanings of peace and democracy in Africa, different conflict handling mechanisms, and reconciliation with a linkage to democratic governance. Some participants also commented that the session on personal styles of handling conflict and leadership patterns helped them understand their own strengths and weaknesses in leadership. Discussions and exercises helped the participants enhance their theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
The evaluation showed that most participants deepened their knowledge of the causes of conflict and gained new perspectives on conflict, democratic governance, and leadership in Africa. However, due to their limited English skills, a few participants from Somalia and Somaliland faced difficulty in capturing some concepts covered at the training program.
Finally, the participants pointed out that the training schedule was somewhat tight as a result of covering a few too many issues in a limited amount of time. They also could have used more time to interact with each other informally. However, in general, all the participants found the training very empowering. They were extremely impressed and inspired by the trainer. They also enjoyed the well-balanced representation of different countries and cultures.
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In sum, the Youth Movement for Democracy and the Africa Democracy Forum organized a very successful and productive training program, which enabled 19 young democracy activists from seven countries in East Africa to deepen their understanding of conflict, peace building, and democracy. The training program empowered them with theoretical knowledge and practical skills for peace- and democracy-building work, and helped prepare them for their future roles as leaders. The Youth Movement and the ADF currently are exploring the possibility of organizing similar training programs for Southern, Central, and West Africa.
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