Bamako (Mali): Civic Watch Shares Attends Forum on Digital Security & Social Cohesion 

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Recognised for its leading role in promoting #SafeDigitalSpaces through the #defyhatenow initiative in Cameroon, the Regional meeting aimed to share our experience with other countries.

Civic Watch is currently taking part in a two day Forum on Digital Security and Social Cohesion in Bamako, Mali. This invitation of Meta is coming after  a 3 day training that took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in August 2022 with key digital actors of french speaking Africa States using ICT to mitigate violence and hate for peace  The training was organized by Meta and Search for Common Ground, with the aim of building digital peace in Africa. In continuation of the project, organizations met in Mali, for the Bamako Forum on Digital Security and Social Cohesion.

The Bamako Forum brought together researchers, civil society actors, policy markers, and digital and social cohesion experts, among them Civic Watch, represented by Tchiengue Donald, #defyhatenow Digital Project Coordinator. The Forum aims at examining ways of amplifying the analyses and experience of African scholars and civil society actors in order to support policy decision making in the face of increased fueling of conflicts and polarization, ills that come with the misuse of social media platforms. The forum is a stitch in time as it will lead to the creation of a platform for exchange, dialogue, and planning to build a sustainable partnership in research and advocacy on digitalization, conflicts, and social cohesion in the Sahel area. That way, there will be a better followup by the members for the development of Africa. 

The forum is intended to be a starting point for regional initiatives to tackle online challenges to peace and social cohesion in the Sahel area. To this end, with the support of Meta, an online campaign named #TamTam2Paix will be launched in the coming days with several digital actors from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad and Cameroon to amplify the messages of peace and togetherness in the light of current socio-political and geopolitical stakes. 

Africa is experiencing  a rapid growth in internet access which allows population access to social media which has become risky to its consumers due to the kind of information shared. There is a need to create awareness on the dangers surrounding the irresponsible use of these digital tools which are often used in; fueling conflicts and polarization, spreading of fake news, incitement to violence, extremist exploitation of digital tools, and the fueling of hate speech on social media, thus affecting social cohesion and stability across the region.

It is important to note that despite these disadvantages faced, the internet has positive sides that can be explored for sustainable peace and social cohesion. Hence the forum is for policymakers to better understand the links between digital tool access and conflicts. The Bamako Forum was established with the aim of fostering a lasting partnership between African scholars and practitioners to support National, Regional, and International policies regarding emerging digital issues. Emerging from consultations in the Sahel and West Africa involving various regional actors. The initiative encourages cross-sector collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who will combine their efforts to ensure the mitigation of these vices that are disturbing the peace and social cohesion in the African continent. During the forum the participants recognized the profoundly transformative power of ICT and its significance impact on lives and are therefore committed to follow principles and objectives stated in the Bamako Declaration of Digital and Social Cohesion of September 20,2023.

As part of Civic Watch’s mandate which is to reduce conflict online and offline, it is a milestone in joining other stakeholders in Africa to make Africans aware of the instabilities brought about by the misuse of digital tools. It will be more to reiterate to social media users the need to #ThinkBUClick while browsing so as to stop fake news, hate speech and violent extremism via the use of digital tools. 

HOW TO RESPOND TO HATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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Online hate speech is a hateful post that takes place online with the aim of attacking or stigmatizing an individual or group of persons based on their gender, identity traits or beliefs. The attack could be directed to their country of origin, tribe, race, religion or political views.

Social media nowadays has become a place where many feel they can pour out anything they feel like saying to anyone. Some go for fun, others for entertainment while others go just to insult and downgrade others. These online bullying, harassing could lead to mental health problems like trauma. Online hate has lots of negative consequences that may affect a whole community if measures are not taken to reduce the flame. Memories of the 2018 post-electoral tensions in Cameroon, which were exacerbated by the spread of tribal hate messages online are still vivid. 

Many find social media platforms as a place where they can insult, harass people and promote hate. This does not mean it is right and we should not be bystanders. There are great ways to approach such persons and sensitize them. We can do that through online campaigns, share some tips with them, and use hashtags to make our message go viral.

While we are trying to eradicate the wild spread of #HateSpeech, #Misinformation, #Disinformation, Violent extremism online and offline in our communities, we need to mind the tone in which we are passing our message. If we respond to #Hate with hate, we increase hate in our community. We learnt from Martin Luther King that “Hate cannot drive out hate, only LOVE can do that”. 

Choose to #ACT4Peace today! 

You cannot correct someone by insulting them, if you do so they will not learn. They will instead increase their actions and find ways to bring you down. There are a few things you can do to help curb the spread of online hate: 

  1. The first thing you need to do is to ACT 
  2. You can invite them to join you,  engage in empathic and peace building conversations online.
  3. Educate them on the dangers of #HateSpeech both online and offline, e.g. it can lead to acts of #Violence in our communities.
  4. You can respond to #HateSpeech by posting something that promotes #Peace. You can undermine hateful content with positive messages that spread tolerance, equality and truth in defense of those being targeted by hate.
  5. While trying to build peace, mind you that all cultures are to be respected. Do not use a culture negatively in trying to prove a point. 
  6. You can use hashtags like; #Act4Peace, #NoToHate, #NoToHateSpeech, #WeStandTogether, #HateFreeCameroon, #defyhatenow etc.

Thank you for reading this piece and please share with us ways you think we can respond to online hate without spurring people’s anger, more hurtful words and violence.  If we do not act now, online hate will spread its wings so wide that we will not be able to mitigate it. 

To learn more on how to champion peace initiatives in your community, we invite your to read or download free copies of the #defyhatenow Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide

Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide, Cameroon , Second Edition 2021

#defyhatenow

#SafeDigitalSpaces

#HateFreeCameroon

Back to school 2022-2023 : #HateFreeSchools in Cameroon

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Civic Watch in its implementation of the #defyhatenow initiative works to counter, mitigate #HateSpeech, violent extremism both online and offline in Cameroon. We equally work to empower youths to become peace building leaders in their school environment and communities.

This coming back to school 2022-2023 academic year, Civic Watch will accompany students with the aid of their teachers for a #HateFreeSchool. It is our aim to build these students with moral values, inculcate the habit of tolerance, a peaceful coexistence and living together. The past three years have recorded an increase of violence in school milieus. Reports of students stabbing peers and teachers, indulging in sexual immorality on campus and others involved in sharing nude videos online. In addition, the two English speaking regions of Cameroon have been timid with schooling in the past years due to the Anglophone conflict. Students fear they might become a target and lose their lives for going to school. Schools burnt down by unidentified men who threaten the lives of those who dare to go to school. Statistics published by Human Right Watch show that an estimated number of 700 000 children have been out of school between the year 2017 and 2021. This is one of the major reasons that Civic Watch Cameroon calls for an active and collective back to school campaign. 

depict the dire situation of children of school going age based in the conflict-struck regions

We will print out posters, print design pictures of peace and they will be posted in the school campuses, we will as well share with them the content of the #defyhatenow Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide; like, the importance of peace, living together, tolerance and the dangers of violence, hate speech online and offline. In the end of this #HateFreeSchool Campaign, we will be sure of inculcating the spirit of building peace, importance of living together and giving them basic skills of mitigating hate speech in their schools and communities. We will want the students to realize that they need #PenNotGun to build a good and prosperous future for them and #HateFreeCameroon. This will help to fosters peace in #Cameroon and our society.

Civic Watch team will visit primary, secondary and university schools to have a talk with them. Other relay team members based in the North West and South West regions will visit schools there and have a talk with the students and pupils on the need of building a #HateFreeSchool for a brighter future. We begin from the primary level so that while growing they will know the importance of peace, acceptance and tolerance in their communities. They will learn that despite their difference in tribe, class, and religion, there is no difference between them. Their difference complements each one of them to make them stronger together. They will understand that without one of them they are weak. 

While going on the field to talk with the students, we will equally share with them online because we know that many students are online. The aim is to reach out to as many students as 1000. If many share, students will learn to be careful online. They will #ThinkB4TheyClick, the spread of hate speech will reduce and the rate of violence in our schools will reduce as well. This is to make students conscious and join the spreading love and mitigate hate in their classes and communities. That is why we urge you to defy hate NOW. 

Join the campaign of building hate free schools by using these hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc; 

#HateFreeSchools

#PenNotGun

#Youth4Peace

#Teens4Peace

#PeaceInMySchool

#NoToHateSpeech

Africa Fact Checking Fellowship “Special Grand Nord”.

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AFFCameroon est un programme géré par Civic Watch et son partenaire defyhatenow. Son objectif est de former des journalistes, des blogueurs et des créateurs de contenu pour qu'ils puissent lutter contre les #FakeNews, #Misinformation, #Disinformation en ligne, en #Factchecking des informations en ligne et hors ligne.  Le programme vise à cultiver les compétences nécessaires pour créer une expérience en ligne saine et sûre pour tous les utilisateurs de médias sociaux, en faisant un lieu sûr vide d'idées toxiques, de discours de haine, de désinformation et de fake news qui attisent les flammes de la violence. Ces dernières années, Civic Watch et defyhatenow ont formé des stagiaires de différentes régions du Cameroun, à savoir le Nord-Ouest et le Sud-Ouest, touchés par le conflit anglophone, l'Ouest, le Centre et le Littoral, qui accueillent la plupart des personnes déplacées à l'intérieur du Cameroun. 

Cette année, nous nous sommes rendus dans la région du Nord du Cameroun. L'Extrême-Nord a été confronté à de violentes attaques de Boko Haram ces dernières années et est également confronté à des conflits intertribaux. Nous avons donc vu la nécessité de sensibiliser cette partie du pays. Nous avons vu la nécessité de faire en sorte que les habitants de cette région soient impliqués et fassent partie d'un #Cameroun qui n'est pas oublié. C'est pourquoi l'AFFCameroon dans cette partie a été appelée "Spécial Grand Nord", c'est parce que nous avions besoin de personnes qui connaissent et maîtrisent les réalités de cette région. 

#Session 'Spécial Grand Nord' de l'AFFCameroun, au premier plan l'entraîneur M. Paul Joel Kamtchang.

Garoua hosted AFFCameroon for its first time and the training ran for two days, 28th and 29th of April 2022. 15 fellows were selected and they answered present to discover the new world they were about to embark on. These fellows were; 8 from Garoua, 5 from Ngaoundere and 2 Maroua. The trainer was Paul Joel Kamtchang who took them through; the world internet world, introduction to fact checking, methodology for writing Social Media Health Report (SMHR), working group on SMHR and meet up, fact checking reporting and fact checking topics. The first session was all about introduction, making them discover the fact checking world, identify fact checking topics, how to write fact checking reports and SMHR.
`After the first session, the fellows showed their delight and were more eager to discover the techniques and mechanisms of fact checking. Their training will run for three sessions, April, May and June. The next session will be in May 2022. 

Les jeunes de Yaoundé partagent leurs perspectives sur la participation civique et la construction de la nation

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“YOUTH AND VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION IN THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF CAMEROON” 

Civic Watch le 10 février 2022 a eu un entretien avec 20 jeunes basés à Yaoundé à l'occasion de la célébration de la Journée de la Jeunesse au Cameroun. Le thème de cette année : "Jeunesse et participation volontaire aux grands défis du Cameroun", met en exergue l'implication des jeunes dans le développement. Ainsi, quelques jeunes issus de différents milieux, journalistes, enseignants, blogueurs, étudiants, et organisations de la société civile ont été invités à la session. L'objectif était qu'ils parlent des difficultés auxquelles la jeunesse camerounaise est confrontée, de l'impact de leurs actions dans leur vie et dans la société, et de la manière de participer au développement et au maintien de la paix... la paix de leur communauté.  

La réunion a débuté par un discours de bienvenue du président de l'organisation, M. Ngala Desmond, qui a expliqué le mandat de Civic Watch : mobilisation de l'action civique, lutte contre les discours de haine en ligne, la violence et l'extrémisme violent en ligne et hors ligne.  

La session, modérée par Kinang Derick, a commencé par une série de présentations et d'attentes de la part des participants. La première partie du programme a été consacrée à la célébration de la Journée de la jeunesse (passé et présent), aux attentes suscitées par le discours du chef de l'État et au thème de la Journée de la jeunesse 2022 : (Jeunesse et participation volontaire) une voie à suivre ? 

L'échange s'est poursuivi avec l'accord que la célébration de la journée de la jeunesse d'aujourd'hui est différente de celle du passé, la valeur a été perdue parce que dans le passé, les gens ont essayé de comprendre ce qu'était la journée de la jeunesse, mais maintenant, les jeunes ont des raisons différentes de participer. Il a été reconnu que la plupart des Camerounais ne savent pas pourquoi la journée de la jeunesse est célébrée. Le gouvernement camerounais a jeté les bases de la journée de la jeunesse. L'idée de cette journée était de célébrer l'histoire du Cameroun et de la transmettre à la jeune génération. On s'est également rendu compte que la crise anglophone et le CoronaVirus avaient contribué à la chute de la fête de la jeunesse au Cameroun. Selon le message du chef de l'Etat à la jeunesse, on s'attendait à ce que le président Paul Biya crée plus d'emplois pour les jeunes, qu'il promeuve l'éducation en créant des universités et Pavel-Aldo, membre du Forum académique des campus, a déclaré qu'il s'attendait à ce que le président mette des fonds à la disposition des jeunes qui ont des projets en attente de financement afin qu'ils puissent réaliser leurs rêves. En ce qui concerne le thème de la journée de la jeunesse, il a été discuté que les jeunes sont devenus préoccupés par l'argent plutôt que de vouloir acquérir des connaissances et des compétences.  

 La deuxième partie de la discussion a porté sur les thèmes suivants : les jeunes et la participation civique, les jeunes et la consolidation de la paix/le processus de paix, et la lutte contre les discours de haine et la violence dans les écoles et les communautés. Les jeunes ont reconnu qu'ils devaient être un exemple dans leur communauté immédiate pour contrer les discours de haine et la violence. Les participants ont convenu de la nécessité pour eux de faire preuve d'autodiscipline, de tolérance envers les autres et de sensibiliser les autres jeunes aux moyens de contribuer à la construction de la nation, à leur manière. En ce qui concerne les moyens d'exploiter nos différences pour avoir un impact positif sur la société, un exemple est la Coupe d'Afrique des Nations #AFCON2021 qui vient de se terminer et qui a été organisée par le Cameroun.  La fête du football a rassemblé tous les Camerounais comme un seul peuple, une seule nation et parlant d'une seule voix. Les participants ont insisté sur les excès affichés par les utilisateurs des médias sociaux sur différentes plateformes, avec le potentiel de déclencher la violence. Un exemple typique a été la montée récurrente de la violence [généralement induite par la drogue], observée dans la plupart des écoles secondaires, qui aurait été influencée par les médias sociaux. 

RECOMMANDATIONS 

 En ce qui concerne les recommandations, les jeunes ont recommandé que les parents soient sensibilisés à l'éducation morale de leurs enfants à la maison, car la morale de la jeune génération se dégrade de jour en jour. 

Les jeunes doivent travailler en étroite collaboration avec les enfants, dénoncer certaines des choses qui se passent dans leur environnement, noter les difficultés qu'ils rencontrent et trouver le courage d'expliquer leurs problèmes de manière pacifique aux autorités gouvernementales.