Civic Watch Cameroon and UNESCO MGIEP In Partnership for Sustainable Peace and Development

In a move towards fostering peace, citizenship and sustainable development in Cameroon, Civic Watch Cameroon has taken a bold step ahead in a partnership with UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP). This collaboration aims to transform educational practices and cultivate a culture of peace and sustainability in Cameroon and beyond. The collaboration is geared at introducing Cameroonian youths to the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Youth Waging Peace course. Thanks to its special focus on the role of education in addressing this challenge of the rise of extremist ideologies that can lead to violent extremism using a development and peacebuilding approach, youths will get a clearer understanding on peace building processes and how to handle different individuals with their different views and ideologies in their different communities. 

UNESCO MGIEP’ Vision

UNESCO MGIEP is known for its innovative approach to integrating peace, global citizenship, and sustainable development into educational frameworks. Their mission aligns closely with Civic Watch Cameroon’s goals of empowering communities and promoting civic engagement while addressing questions of incitement to violence, tolerance and peacebuilding in relation to social media. This partnership is set to leverage MGIEP’s expertise and resources to drive impactful change in Cameroon’s educational landscape and youths working in peacebuilding. 

Main Objectives of the Partnership

Some of the main objective of this partnership is: 

1. Promoting Peace Education: Civic Watch Cameroon and MGIEP will work on encouraging youths and students to take this peace education course as it will  help them understand and practice non-violent conflict resolution and mutual respect. The Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Youth Waging Peace course evokes in community leaders Wellbeing-Mental Health, Mindfulness, Empathy, Compassion, Critical Inquiry; Conflict Transformation, Peacebuilding, Prevention of Violent Extremism. These are traits that will help in addressing different issues encountered in different communities. Aside from building empathy,  the SEL course helps youths understand and manage their own emotions. By developing emotional awareness, young people will better handle conflicts and stress, which is beneficial for peaceful interactions. An example is Civic Watch carrying out peace activities in school and creating peace clubs in schools in Bamenda, Buea, Limbe, Moutengene, Douala, Yaounde, Bafoussam to educate students and pupils on the importance of creating peaceful environment in school and in their communities. 

2. Improving Sustainable Development Goals : The partnership will focus on promoting SDGs in Cameroon and its training, this will ensure that participants are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to address global challenges like climate change, inequality, and resource management. The SEL course is important and beneficial because it will teach and equip you with conflict resolution and communication skills, which are essential for reducing violence and fostering peaceful interactions in your communities. The SEL encourages young people to understand and respect diverse perspectives, which is important for building inclusive communities. Through the training of Peace Weavers, Civic Watch has been able to train 50 community youth leaders who in turn go to their communities to share the importance of peace and resolving conflict through peaceful methods. 

3. Fostering Global Citizenship: By emphasizing global citizenship, the collaboration aims to nurture a sense of responsibility and interconnectedness among Cameroonian youths, preparing them to contribute positively to a #HateFreeCameroon and a globalized world. It fosters a sense of responsibility towards others, including those from different countries and backgrounds, motivating young leaders to act in ways that benefit the entire community. This means that they have the interest of the community at heart. The beauty of this course is that it addresses the need to build a sustainable diverse and multicultural community which is the aim of Civic Watch Cameroon, building a #HateFreeCommunity. Just as Civic Watch entails, it calls on all citizens to be 

4. Leveraging Technology for Education: MGIEP’s expertise in educational technology will be used to promote learning experiences, making learning more accessible and engaging through digital tools and innovative methods. This means that at the end of the course, young leaders will acquire communication skills that can be applied to digital platforms, such as video conferencing, collaborative documents, and discussion forums. This will help work effectively virtually  while navigating online interactions respectfully. Social Media Literacy is not left out. Given that social media is one of the channels where hate speech and incitement to violence is mostly propagated, the SEL course can improve the skills of peacebuilders on how to use social media responsibly and constructively, understanding the impact of their online behavior. As well as the dangerous effects if they use social media wrongly. Civic Watch uses technology to build peace. Through it’s recent #Tech4Peace fellowship, 15 youths are being trained how to use their technology skills to promote peace on social media and community. It also runs a Tech4Peace monthly series, #CyberSmart, where it shares with its online community the role digital technology can play in building peace and resolving conflict. 

5. Promote Media Literacy: One of the advantages of the Social Emotional Learning course is that it fosters critical thinking skills that enable students, journalists, peace builders to question and analyze the credibility and reliability of information they encounter in the media. They we have the #defyhatenow #ThinkB4UClick attitude, and it will prevent them from sharing #FakeNews, #Misinformation, #Disinformation and #Malinformation which are all vices of inciting violent actions in a community or country. The course can help youths identify biases and aspects in media content, and it promotes a better understanding of news and information. It helps media professionals as well as peace builders to become more informed, thoughtful, and responsible consumers and producers of information. Through the #Meadi4Peace program and the Africa Factchecking Fellowship (AFFCameroon), journalists, content creators and bloggers are trained on how to report in time of conflict and verify information before communication to the public. 

6. Help In Conflict Resolution: Conflict resolution is a process by which two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute. Taking this course will help you acquire skills of resolving conflict peacefully. Thanks to the SEL course, peacebuilders will gain collaborative problem-solving skills. They will  work together to identify solutions that address the needs and concerns of all parties / communities involved. With collaborative and joint efforts, peacebuilders will find innovative ways to resolve conflicts. Civic Watch works with CSOs, Youth Lead Organizations that are trained with the #defyhatenow hate speech mitigation field Guide on how to resolve conflict via peaceful methods. 

Impact on Communities

For Civic Watch Cameroon, this partnership represents a unique opportunity to enhance their existing programs and initiatives. By integrating MGIEP’s courses and resources, they will be able to provide more effective training for community leaders, educators, youth leaders, students,  create engaging learning materials, and implement community-based projects that resonate with  the needs of communities.

The collaboration is also aimed at building capacity among community youth leaders , equipping them with the skills and knowledge to train / educate, sensitize in their communities as well as online on  peace and sustainability. This  will in turn contribute to a more informed and active Cameroonian youths capable of driving positive social change.

As Civic Watch Cameroon and UNESCO MGIEP embark on this exciting journey, the partnership promises to bring about meaningful progress in the realms of education and community development. Through collaborative efforts, they hope to set a precedent for how international cooperation can address local and global challenges through education.

Stay tuned for updates as this partnership unfolds and continues to make strides towards a more peaceful and sustainable future for Cameroon.

This is another action carried out by Civic Watch in response to mitigating Violent action and creating a portal for youths to impact their communities by bringing possible solutions to conflict situations and promoting social cohesion. 

Kindly fill this registration form to enroll for the course. Register Here