Background
Search for Common Ground’s (Search) mission is to transform the way individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative solutions. Search is currently implementing the Kwa Pamoja Tudumishe Amani project in Mtwara region that is focused on strengthening linkages between youth, community leaders, and security actors (particularly police) to build a collaborative response to prevent extremist recruitment in Mtwara.
Search is looking forward to supporting larger youth-led initiatives, which can reach even more community members and strengthen youth leadership. These initiatives will directly respond to some of the recommendations and solutions collaboratively identified during the Youth Security Forums under Search’s ongoing project and designed by youth champions in the design workshop. The Six selected initiatives will thus be rooted in local knowledge and designed to effectively strengthen prevention of and community resilience to risks related to extremism, while fostering collaboration and self-agency in youth champions.
Context
Search for Common Ground implements the Kwa pamoja Tudumishe Amani II: Strengthening Collaboration and Relationships between and among Youth, Community Leaders, and Security Actors in Mtwara, Search works with youth, who are often targeted by police as ‘part of the problem’. However, Search has found that youth can also act as positive agents of change in their communities when supported to engage directly with police and other community members to identify and lead peace and security initiatives. The proposed Collaborative activities will strengthen youth and police engagement through providing initial spaces for police representatives and youth to separately develop their comfort and confidence in engaging with one another by enabling the specific stakeholders practice the skills learnt during the training to take forward their own initiatives.
Under our existing project Search has identified this as a gap in programming: youth leaders require additional opportunities to demonstrate their leadership potential and police need separate discussions to explore their roles and the roles of youth leaders in peace and security initiatives prior to bringing them together to discuss sensitive topics. Some of the Indicative activities that will be considered include but not limited to Participatory Theater performances, arts and cultural events, sports activities, community dialogues, Social Media Campaigns etc.
Closing
