Central African Republic

We led practical conflict transformation workshops for community leaders in the midst of the 2014 violence, then partnered with the Preparatory Commission for National Dialogue to design the broadly inclusive Bangui National Forum held in May 2015.

Training in conflict transformation and dialogue facilitation (2015)

In partnership with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Karuna Center offered two courses in conflict transformation and dialogue facilitation for the social science faculty at the University of Bangui, the country’s only university. As teachers, the workshop participants discussed how to integrate these concepts into their classes; the value of a participatory approach to teaching conflict transformation; and the importance of facilitating dialogues to rebuild trust between Muslim and Christian students. By the end of the third course, they had decided to create a research institute on peacebuilding, as a potential resource during their country’s political transition and the period of post-conflict social healing.

Designing a National Dialogue (2015)

Karuna Center led two workshops for the Central African Republic (CAR) transitional government’s National Preparatory Commission for the Bangui Reconciliation Forum, in close coordination with MINUSCA (the UN peacekeeping mission). The Bangui Forum, held in May 2015, engaged more than 600 participants representing the government, civil society, political parties, the media, the diaspora and faith-based organizations from around the country, including refugees who are still in camps in neighboring countries.

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Violence mitigation training for community leaders (2014)

In June 2014, we co-led an intensive 5-day conflict transformation workshop for local Central African leaders in partnership with the US Institute of Peace (USIP). In the year before the workshop, violent attacks by armed Christian and Muslim militias had escalated, killing more than 5,000 people and displacing over a million. Our role was to train a diverse group of community leaders who were trying to de-escalate the conflict.

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