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Children and Youth March Forward with Peace Building in
Africa
As the GNRC's Peace Education Programme in Tanzania Comes of
Age
TOWARD PEACE CULTURE

March for Peace: GNRC
Peace Club leaders consisting of children and youth lead
other children and
youth in Zanzibar in a Peace March Parade during the 2005
Zanzibar International Film Festival
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Now entering its third year, the Education
for Peace Pilot Programme promises to be a success story of
its kind in Tanzania. By the end of September 2005, about 40
Peace Clubs bringing together more than 500 children and youth
in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, had been formed. These Peace
Clubs have helped to create important avenues and spaces in
which children and youth discuss peace and conflict issues.
The children and youth come from diverse backgrounds,
including from the two main faith traditions in Tanzania -
Islam and Christianity. In Zanzibar, the scene of a bloody
post-election violence in 2000 that claimed many lives,
children and youth have established 15 Peace Clubs while in
Dar es Salaam, there are about 25 Peace Clubs, all actively
participating in peace building.
During the International Day of Peace on 21st September, GNRC
Children and Youth Peace Clubs in Dar es Salaam were invited
by UNICEF to attend a launch of a book drawn by children
called "Voices of Peace". More Peace Clubs were later invited
to attend the exhibition at Alliance Francois. Husna Abdul of
Vunja Ukimya Peace Club attended the World Youth Congress in
Scotland in June where she attended training on media and
networked with other young journalists. She came back to Dar
es Salaam with valuable experience in the media which she
shared with other the Peace Club members.
In July 2005, over fifty representatives from the Peace Clubs
in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar converged in Zanzibar for a
four-day Peace Camp. The Peace Camp took place in the Zanzibar
famous UNESCO's declared world heritage site - The Stone Town,
during the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). During
the Peace Camp, the GNRC children and youth were joined by
other children in the Island to participate in a 'March for
Peace' which started and ended at the Peace Museum in the
historical Stone Town. They were received by the Zanzibar
Regional Commissioner Mr. Abdalla Mwinyi. The Peace Camp theme
was 'Peace Starts With Me'. Proposals on how peace will be
strengthened in Tanzania and Africa at large were discussed by
the youth and children. The Peace Club leaders were introduced
to children's rights and responsibilities, ethics and peace
building among other issues.
Over 60 Imams, Pastors, Bishops and other Christian and Muslim
Religious Leaders came together for a three-day workshop on
Civic-Peace Education in Dar es Salaam, from 22nd to 24th
March 2005. The Workshop brought together Imams and Christian
and other Muslim religious leaders in Tanzania to discuss ways
in which they can ensure that the 2005 General Elections would
be peaceful. The Imams, Christian and Muslim religious leaders
participated in a three day workshop whose theme was
"Empowering Religious Leaders in Enhancing Free, Fair and
Peaceful 2005 Tanzania Elections". Issues that were addressed
at the workshop included: role of a citizen in the nation,
democratic values and principles, enhancing good governance,
principles of responsible government and the role of religious
leaders in enhancing good governance. The workshop was done
from 22nd to 24th March 2005.
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| Workshop for Peace: Representatives of
various GNRC Peace Clubs from Dar es Salaam at the UNICEF's
Information and Resource Centre in Dar es Salaam discussing
way forward during one of the peace workshops organized to
form GYOPEN |
Under the same programme, four children's and
youth's workshops were carried out. The children's and youth's
workshops which were conducted at UNICEF in the months of
February and March brought together the Peace Clubs in Dar es
Salaam region to among other things; create awareness to the
youth and children about politics and politicians during the
electioneering period; bring together leaders from the main
religions in Tanzania to encourage their faithful to avoid
violence or activities that may lead to violence in pre and
post-election time and to sensitize the youth and the children
about their roles in society during the time of campaigns
leading to elections and thereafter. The children and youth were
introduced to various subjects including role of children/youth
as citizens, democratic values and principles, good governance,
principles of responsible government, electoral legislation,
electoral process and voter rights and obligations.
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