Within the framework of the project Mali (Dis-) Engagement and Re-Integration related to Terrorism (MERIT), UNICRI and the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT-The Hague), in close collaboration with Think Peace Sahel, Conseil National de la Jeunesse, International Alert, and SNV-ICCO-OXFAM, have developed a set of engagement and empowerment training sessions addressed to young people to promote alternatives to violence.
A key focus of the project aims specifically at empowering and engaging youth in the promotion of alternatives to violence. Within this context, the training on “Dialogue and debate: communication and public speaking” is taking place from 8 to 10 October 2020, gathering 30 participants from various regions of Mali.
Dialogue enables communities to become more resilient to violence and more effective in identifying problems and their solutions, reducing mistrust, improving listening skills, promoting acceptance of differences and recognizing the importance of peaceful conflict resolution. The training, conducted in collaboration with Mercy Corps, aims to provide participants with skills on oral communication and facilitation tools and techniques to stimulate dialogue and sharing of experiences between different societal actors in order to create a feeling of bond, shared values and peace.
The MERIT project will continue to build the capacity of the young leaders through new activities, starting with a course on conflict management and prevention, to be followed by a training on the development of political skills and spaces for political debate.
