The Peace Forum, the prevention of intercommunity conflicts and living together in Mayo-Danay organized by the Association for the Development of Mayo-Danay, with the technical assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education and the The support from UNESCO and UN Women will be held until November 3.
The Forum on peace, prevention of intercommunity conflicts and living together in Mayo-Danay opened its doors on November 1, 2024 in the town of Yagoua, capital of the Mayo-Danay department. This event, organized by the Association for the Development of Mayo-Danay (Ademada), with the technical assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education and the support of UNESCO and UN Women, aims to promote peace, tolerance and social cohesion in the Far North region.
Mayo-Danay is a region of Cameroon known for its cultural and ethnic diversity. However, in recent years, the region has experienced intercommunal tensions and conflicts related to the management of natural resources and political representation.
These conflicts between ethnic-linguistic communities, socio-professional categories (fishermen, breeders, farmers) and within members of the same tribal group between farmers and breeders constitute a great concern for the Department of Mayo-Danay because they disrupt the social harmony, peaceful cohabitation and agropastoral activity in the rural world.
Peace and development being closely linked, it is therefore appropriate to promote relevant initiatives to establish a society of peace and tolerance. This requires rooting in individual and collective consciousness the values of a culture of peace such as tolerance, solidarity, democracy and justice.
Education, in the broad sense of the term, presents itself as the main means of moving towards this ideal.
Indeed, the forum which began today will end on November 3. It will aim to address these challenges and find lasting solutions to promote peace and living together. A forum which follows a certain number of recorded conflicts but also the thorny problem of flooding.
In charge of youth issues, civic education and national integration, the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education here has contributed to mobilizing, training and deploying community mediators in the neighborhoods and villages of the Department of Mayo -Danay for carrying out activities for peace, social cohesion and harmonious living together in the 11 administrative units of this administrative district, starting with training in moral, civic and entrepreneurial rearmament of the latter.
The President of Ademada, Mamat Boukar Alipha, begins his remarks with a presentation of the difficult situation which followed the floods in Mayo-Danay, like the destruction of crops and displacements; anything that led to conflicts between families. Thus, by presenting what has already been done by the public authorities and local elites, he invites everyone to redouble their efforts. “Let us continue to maintain our status as a people of welcome and hospitality.
The traveler, the foreigner, the other are all an opportunity for us to discover other horizons, and other cultures, they are not our enemies", thus he addresses all populations and in particular to the young people on whom this forum intends to rely to overcome its problems.
During this ceremony, nearly 315 community mediators received their parchments after 3 days of training on the issues of social mediation, moral, civic and entrepreneurial rearmament and many other modules. The latter come from all the districts of Mayo-Danay.
As part of the water project carried out by the National Volunteer Program, the volunteers selected by the association for the development of Mayo-Danay, were trained and received equipment to be able to actively deploy on the ground.
For 03 days, participants in this forum will be entitled to presentations serving as inaugural lessons. The themes addressed focused on: social conflicts and Promotion of Peace in Mayo-Danay: State of play; Social scourges, depravity of morals and exacerbation of violence: the fatal cocktail”; Water, environment and land use planning in Mayo-Danay: opportunities within reach; Mayo-Danay, today and tomorrow: Perspectives for harmonious development; the urgency of awareness.
It should be remembered that the objectives of this Forum are: to strengthen the capacities of community leaders and local authorities to prevent and manage intercommunity conflicts; to promote tolerance and mutual understanding between different communities; to promote citizen participation and local governance for better management of natural resources and public services.
This forum marks an important step towards building a more peaceful and inclusive society in Mayo-Danay and throughout Cameroon.