What: Our Peace and Security Project works to strengthen and support our proven grassroots strategy of community-led development to improve peace and security in the West Africa region. It focuses on building ways to overcome barriers that limit an individual’s ability to develop through collaboration at the local, regional and national level.
Why: All areas of development are limited when communities and nations cannot live in peace. By ensuring every woman, man and child can develop in a safe and cooperative environment, we will see improvements in education, health, economic development, gender equality and more.
How: The Peace and Security Project first strengthens peace-building at the community level by reinforcing conflict prevention and management skills learned in the Community Empowerment Program. These skills include improved communication and problem-solving skills as well as the peaceful resolution of community and familial conflicts.
The project also works to develop strategies for fostering peace and human security across social networks through research and collaboration. Research for the project has been conducted on the function and nature of major social networks in Senegal, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
It also works to connect grassroots communities and their social networks with regional and international institutions. With this increased collaboration, regions and nations as a whole can work together to identify barriers to the peace and security of their area and create solutions that will overcome those barriers.
When & Where: The Peace and Security Project was launched in April 2012 and the pilot phase of the project was implemented in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia.
Impact & Sustainability: Favorable results have been demonstrated in the pilot phase of the project thoughout the three countries. For example, community-led actions have led to the promotion of human security and the resolution of more than 290 family, community and intercommunity conflicts by Peace Committees, which are committees formed in each community where the program is implemented.
