…Trains stakeholders on Conflict Prevention, Violent Extremism, Crisis Management and Peacebuilding
By Isaac Eranga
A 3-day training workshop on Conflict Prevention, Violent Extremism, Crisis Management and Peacebuilding aimed at equipping community stakeholders in Imo State with skills to address conflict and ensure peaceful resolution, has been held in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The training workshop which was attended by over twenty stakeholders started October 3 and ended October 5, 2024.
The Research and Action for Peace (RECaP) Project which is being Implemented in Nigeria by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), is supported by the European Union (EU).
Speaking, the National Network Coordinator of WANEP Nigeria- Chief Dr. Bridget Osakwe said the workshop was organized to build the capacity of civil society actors, women, youth and men’s groups on conflict prevention, violent extremism, crisis management and peacebuilding.
“The REcAp project funded by the European Union, is implemented by WANEP, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in 18 countries of West Africa and the Lake Chad Basin.
“The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the role for civil society, including regional, national and community practitioners and researchers in effective peacebuilding, crisis management and prevention of conflict and violent extremism in West Africa and the Lake Chad Basin to enable more informed decision making by policy makers”, said Dr. Bridget Osakwe.
On her part, WANEP Nigeria Head of Programs Mrs Patience Ikpeh-Obaulo reiterated the expected outcomes to include the following: “enhancing the capacity of peacebuilding organizations and practitioners; strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs), women and youth groups in peacebuilding, and the prevention of conflict and violent extremism; and strengthening the capacity of CSOs and its network members at regional, national and community levels in mediation, negotiation, and facilitative techniques.
“Emphasis of the training was placed on mediation and negotiation knowledge and techniques to influence peacebuilding and conflict prevention policies and practices at multiple levels.
“The training also paid critical attention on how indicators could be elicited before violence occurs, and how to use ranges of different sources of opportunities to prevent conflict and violent extremism. This includes how to make use of local knowledge and traditional methods and approaches whilst embarking on expertise of network members.
“Attention was also focused at ways of formulating understanding around the type of response options needed within a specific context,” said Mrs Obaulo-Ikpeh.
Also, at the training, facilitators enumerated critical signs participants should pay attention to, in order to ensure that conflict is nip in the bud and how to gather information from different sources to prevent conflict and violent extremism.
The workshop also focused on ways to build peace, prevent conflict, manage individual and communal crisis, and avoid violent extremism.
The training workshop is expected to be held in three more states across Nigeria from June 2024 to January 2025, with the first held in Abuja (June 24th to June 26th, 2024), and the second held in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom (August 20th to August 22nd, 2024), and the third recently held in Owerri, Imo State.
