Youth Dialogue on Peace and Social Cohesion in Ezo County.

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Activity: Psycho-social Support (Group and Individual Counseling)

Venue: Ezo County, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan

Number of Participants: 50

Date:   3/10/2024 – 5/10/2024

Partner: UNDP

Brief Story Write up

Supported by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Rural Developmet Action Aid Continues to provide humanitarian support to the people of South Sudan.

In relation to the recent conflict in Tambura County, a number of people were displaced and many of them run to Ezo County for refugee and since the instability, most humanitarian support has been related to physical welfare but not in terms of looking for solutions to the problem.

So funded by UNDP South Sudan, RDAA has conducted a three days youth dialogue of peace and social cohesion to 50 participants in Ezo County, Western Equatoria State, who included both youth in the host community and those in the IDPs

The Dialogue was concluded with a peace football match between the host community youth and the IDP youth and the host community youth emerged victorious

Objectives of the Activity

    • To engage youth from different groups in finding effective peace building, healing, and reconciliation practices through dialogue.
    • To strengthen healing and reconciliation mechanisms that seek to promote a culture of harmonious existence, tolerance and peaceful living among the youth in Ezo County.
    • To strengthen advocacy spaces and raise civic awareness on peaceful co-existence principles and values among the youth in Ezo county
    • To Conduct football for the inter-boma area to promote peace, unity and peaceful co-existence in their localities.
    • Disseminate the messages captured in the dialogue resolution before and during the football competition aiming to raise awareness on the joint agreements of youth in Ezo county for peaceful co-existence.

Results/Issues discussed and outcome of the Activity

Results.

  1. 50 Participants (youth) were able to interact among themselves and share experiences on matters surrounding peace building.
  2. The youth came up with a doable resolution which they will embark on, to bring about sustainable peace in Ezo County.
  3. The football match for peace was yet another platform for more youth to interact and exchange messages of peace and how sports especially football can be a unifying factor among the youth. This is manifested in a way that the 2 teams that participated in the football game comprised different ethnic groups living within the County both from the IDPs and the host community of Ezo county.

Issues discussed:

  1. Roles of Youth in consolidating peace and being at the forefront of conflict mitigation within Ezo county
  2. Concrete activities that youth can do to bring about positive change within the county of Ezo
  3. SWOT Analysis of Youth in Ezo County coupled with a look at the Connectors and Dividers
  4. The use of sports as a peace building tool among the youth in Ezo County.

Outcomes:

  1. 50 youths engaged in peace dialogue towards healing, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence in Ezo County.
  2. 50 youths embraced forgiveness and became ambassadors of peace in Ezo County
  3. Peaceful coexistence is achieved in Ezo as youth, who make up about 70% of the population, engage in both dialogue and sports activities to foster unity.
  4. Sports for peace activity in the form of inter-boma football competition to promote peace and unity among the youth in Ezo County conducted
  5. Messages captured in the dialogue resolution were disseminated before and during the football competition.

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