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The Amahoro Project

Education for development andto combat ethnic prejudicein the Great Lakes region

Contents

CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................1PROJECT SUMMARY...........................................................................................................5

This project is a real contribution by 420 young men and women, aged from 15 to 25, to the fight against ethnic prejudice, which underlies all the forms of violence that have disrupted peace in the three countries of the AfricanGreat Lakes for more than a decade. ..............................................................................................................................5In order to put this noble dream into practise, these young people will be undertaking a community-mediationmission, committing themselves for two years and more to practical activities, in particular:.......................................5 €274,381 over two years .................................................................................................................................................5Partnership of Scouts of the Great Lakes.........................................................................................................................5B.P. 550 Bujumbura / Burundi......................................................................................................................................5Tel.: +257 23 69 48 or 22 64 41.....................................................................................................................................5Fax: +257 21 46 74..........................................................................................................................................................5E-mail: csgl@usan-bu.net................................................................................................................................................5

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT .....................................................................................6

1. Framework and context of the project.........................................................................................................................6

1.1. Background...............................................................................................................................................................6The modern world is characterised by a wave of violence and conflict that is breaking over a great number of countries, particularly in Africa. Inter-ethnic conflicts, the explosion of xenophobia, strategic and economic rivalries,crises of governance, power struggles, armed violence etc. all spread death in these troubled countries, and in mostcases result in humanitarian disasters. Some obvious examples are the Rwandan genocide, the Darfur crisis inSudan, the crisis in Yugoslavia, the war in Iraq and the rebellion in Colombia..............................................................6In conflict situations such as these, the lives of many children and young people are profoundly affected bothsocially and economically due to permanent insecurity and instability. These children and young people are not onlythe worst affected, but also the most actively involved in this violence. ......................................................................6In the Great Lakes, children and young people, who constitute around 60% of the population, are among the firstvictims of the suffering caused by all this violence. Many of them are also the architects of the violence,manipulated by adults, who exploit their immaturity to foster intolerance. They are incited to take up arms againstthe Government because it is headed by someone who is not from their ethnic group or region; they are the oneswho, without conscience, kill, pillage, rape and massacre entire villages of the other ethnic group or tribe, etc. ......6For more than 10 years, the sub-region of the Great Lakes has undergone a long and severe crisis of this type. Thegenocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Burundi, the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have erected walls between people from neighbouring countries, from one and the same country, from one and the same tribe and fromone and the same family. ................................................................................................................................................6However, thanks to international pressure and the willingness and determination of groups who are tired of this cycleof violence, here and there signs of a return to peace can be seen. Electoral procedures are underway in Burundi andin the D.R. of Congo, the desire for negotiation between the Rwandan rebels of the FDLR and the Government has become more pressing, etc. However, the return to peace will be precarious if the causes of the violence are noteradicated, particularly the prejudice that is currently well anchored within the various social strata of the countriesof the sub-region. Indeed, politicians exploit this prejudice to remain in power. Parents incite their children againstthe children of others, encouraging prejudice and stereotypes. The wars between these countries have developed achauvinistic mentality among the population. ................................................................................................................6

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These young people, though actively involved in the violence, can also become a precious resource for promotinglasting peace in the region, if we commit to involving them positively in the peace process. The national scoutingorganisations of these countries have understood this and, in 1996, initiated a sub-regional movement with the aim of including the themes of a culture of peace and peaceful management of conflicts in their programme of education for young people. These national organisations have developed productive experiences, varying from one country tothe next depending on the nature of the crisis. Determined to work for a lasting peace, t this sub-regional movementaims to use its "Partnership of Scouts of the Great Lakes" programme to bring together huge numbers of youngscouts and non-scouts in the fight against ethnic prejudice within the various communities of the countries of theGreat Lakes. ....................................................................................................................................................................6Location of the project and geographical areas of intervention by mediators.................................................................7These are provinces that have been occupied by armed groups of rebels or which host refugee camps for peopledisplaced by war, or which include sites where victims of the civil war in Burundi were massacred............................7These territories are in turmoil, occupied by mai-mai, banyamulenge, interahamwe rebel groups and other armedfactions of the FDLR in Rwanda. These areas have witnessed severe inter-ethnic or tribal violence. Finally, thetowns concerned have played host to Rwandan refugees and people displaced by war. ...............................................7As the D.R. Congo is a country of continental size, only the provinces of Kivu are affected by this project, in thattheir inhabitants have many cultural similarities with their neighbours in Rwanda and Burundi. .................................7These are provinces whose populations are currently fleeing to take refuge in Burundi and Uganda. They are alsoconsidered to be centres of tension, or harbour the major sites of the Rwandan genocide.............................................81.2. Experience gained by the PSGL...............................................................................................................................8Faced with this severe situation of crisis in the sub-region, the national scouting Associations, which since 1996 have been organised into a sub-regional movement called the "Partnership of Scouts of the Great Lakes" (PSGL), havecommitted themselves more strongly to restoring peace. They have included in their Youth Programme specialeducational activities to promote peace and non-violence, positive values, and the peaceful management andresolution of conflicts. ....................................................................................................................................................8The activities they have developed (both jointly and individually) are directed by the sub-regional ExecutiveSecretariat, in the first case, and by the member Organisations, in the second. The member organisations are thescout Associations of Rwanda, Burundi, and of North and South Kivu in the East of the D.R. Congo. An example of one of the PSGL’s joint activities was the 1st sub-regional scout jamboree of the Great Lakes region.........................8On the individual level, the PSGL has carried out concrete actions in education and peace promotion, particularlysub-regional peace events and a sub-regional jamboree on the theme of "Together towards lasting peace anddevelopment". With the aim of promoting a culture of peace and democracy, the PSGL is also working in synergywith national and international organisations, both scout and non-scout. For example, it held workshops on peace atthe worldwide Jamboree in Chile and at the International Assembly held at Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire. It alsocoordinated the international workshops organised in the "Peace Area" of the World Development Village at theworld scout jamboree in Thailand. It is currently carrying out a project to boost the capacities for peace education of young people’s associations and organisations...............................................................................................................8Using its sub-regional and international experience, it now aims to organise this "Amahoro" Project to traincommunity mediators in the Great Lakes........................................................................................................................8The PSGL peace education project has taken firm root in the scouting Associations of the Great Lakes. Several scoutgroups have been twinned with other groups from the same country or from neighbouring countries. In various places, a large number of peace and development activities are taking place, organised by the PSGL for the youngmembers of these scout groups. The scouts participate willingly and enthusiastically in these activities, performinggood deeds and services to the community such as: clean-up operations in towns, the restoration of water sources of water and health centres, voluntary giving of blood, replanting of trees on hills and in towns, building of houses(huts) for people displaced by war or refugees, collecting rubbish etc. ........................................................................8These scouts are well organised, and receive training in how to take an active part in changing their communities,thanks to the youth programme of the associations forming the PSGL and thanks to the projects carried out by theseassociations with the financial support of their local, national and international partners..............................................8The principle areas in which scouting helps to promote community development in the Great Lakes region arevocational training for young people in difficulty, habitat, wild life and the environment, health, food and nutrition,as well as peace................................................................................................................................................................8Through this project, we want to inspire young people to undertake initiatives to promote and maintain lasting peacein the sub-region by combating ethnic prejudice, one of the principle sources of conflict in the Great Lakes. .............9This project aims to provide a means for young people to increase their skills and adopt positive attitudes whenconducting activities of mediation, reconciliation and peaceful resolution of conflicts; young people working insynergy with their peers in other countries (in Europe for example) to promote a culture of peace across the world. .9

2. Implementation of the project.......................................................................................................................................9

2. 1. Objectives of the project..........................................................................................................................................92. 2. Realisation of objectives and activities .................................................................................................................10To train and put into action 420 community mediators able to contribute to social change in their community ........10Young men and women aged 15 to 25 will be trained to become mediators for peace in their communities, capable of combating ethnic prejudice and helping people to manage conflicts without violence, and to act as multipliers able to

Project Amahoro

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bring together other young people (scouts or non-scouts) who are committed to the struggle against racial hatred andviolence. ........................................................................................................................................................................10The mediators will also organise the following activities within their respective communities:..................................10Participants will be selected in each scout region in Burundi, in each scout province in Rwanda and in each scoutdistrict in North and South Kivu in D.R. Congo, in accordance with the criteria set out below. Those selected must:.......................................................................................................................................................................................11The successful candidates will be drawn from the three countries as follows:.......................................................11The selection will be made by ad hoc committees set up by the Executive of each member Association...................11A circular setting out the recruitment criteria and timetable will be published in September 2005 to announce the beginning of recruitment of community mediators in the Great Lakes ........................................................................11By the end of October 2005, the sub-regional Secretariat of the PSGL will have a list of 420 community mediatorsfor training in the Great Lakes region............................................................................................................................11During the period November-December 2005, training courses for community mediators will be organised in the 3countries of the Great Lakes under the supervision of the Partnership of Scouts of the Great Lakes...........................11This aim is to train the community mediators in the following skills:..........................................................................11From January 2006, the community mediators will therefore be operational in the sub-region under the supervisionof their educators, who will also provide them with support in their daily work. ........................................................12To put into place a permanent system of training and support for community mediators............................................12The course for trainers of community mediators will include the following modules: ................................................12o To reinforce, consolidate and evaluate the experiences of the community mediators in regional and internationalcooperation.....................................................................................................................................................................13Two types of activities to achieve this objective: Mediator Peace Caravans and the International Peace Rally .........13This involves a “peace hike”, which will take place in July 2006 (around 100km). The purpose is to share with other mediators the experiences gained and the skills acquired during the work in the field. The caravans will consist of amix of the mediators from the three countries. They will leave their different geographic areas to converge on theadministrative centres of their countries (Burundi and Rwanda) and of their provinces (North and South Kivu). Ateach stop on the way, peace celebrations will be organised with the local communities, and along the route the participants will continue to promote peace and reconciliation. Through these caravans, the participants will learn toappreciate and accept one another, and to live in a climate of solidarity and mutual understanding in the fight againstxenophobia and ethnic hatred. .....................................................................................................................................13When these caravans reach their destinations, "Guides and Scouts of the World" certificates and badges will beawarded to the community mediators. Finally, the "Guides and Scouts of the World" winners will make acommitment to continue their activities in combating prejudice in 2006 and beyond. ................................................13This is the final stage of the project. It is an opportunity to consolidate and evaluate the activities of the peacemediators by comparing the experiences of the networks from the various countries at a large peace rally at Gitega inBurundi. This rally will bring together the 420 community mediators, delegations of the agents of peace, the 40mediator trainers, and young and adult guests from the other countries.......................................................................13The working method at the International Peace Camp will make it possible to evaluate the impact of the communitymediators on the ground, the number of trained agents of peace, the number of operational clubs of peace andreconciliation and the actions in which they have engaged. This evaluation will provide pointers for the developmentof the project over a further period of two years, with a larger number of mediators and agents of peace to be trainedand put into action..........................................................................................................................................................13This International Peace Rally will be organised in five stages, leading up to an act of commitment on the part of the participants, as follows:.................................................................................................................................................14Stage 1: Exploration.......................................................................................................................................................14This stage serves as a trigger, tackling real fears in getting the symposium started, using the following tools:..........14Stage 2: Historical background .....................................................................................................................................14Accounts of peace-building activities. This will provide mutual enrichment based on talks to plenary sessions onground-breaking activities undertaken by certain organisations...................................................................................14Stage 2: Development....................................................................................................................................................14This stage will consist partly of talks by specialists, partly of accounts given by of peace activists. ..........................14The accounts will be presented using an the approach involving the active participation of young people: the “peace practices market”. .........................................................................................................................................................14The specialists will help to answer questions such as: "How do you carry out peace activities with young peopleduring and after a crisis?" ...........................................................................................................................................14Stage 4: Meeting with communities .............................................................................................................................14The participants will be active in the local situation, going into the local community and hosting activities such as thefollowing: ......................................................................................................................................................................14Stage 5: Commitment for the future..............................................................................................................................14Investiture (with medals) of the Mediators of Peace.....................................................................................................14

3. Calendar of activities....................................................................................................................................................14

Year 1: July 2005 – July 2006.......................................................................................................................................14Year 2: August 2006 - August 2007..............................................................................................................................15

Project Amahoro