Aburi-Akuapem Ghana
West Africa
Emerging and Related Projects
of Youth of Apeadu Peace Center
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The problems facing the youth of the world
and Africa especially are of Social, Economic, Political and
Health dimensions.
Other problems like unemployment and
breakdown of social support networks have predisposed young
people to anti-social behavior.
There is also the growing incidence of
civic, ethnic, and religious conflicts in Africa and Ghana,
particularly in which the youth are perceived as both victims
and perpetrators.
The Apeadu Children’s Peace Center, an
initiative by Chief Nana Apeadu
Yiadom II with support from Dr. Nina Lynn
Meyerhof, President of Children of the Earth (USA), and Audrey
Kitagawa, Special Advisor at the office of the UN
Secretary-General’s Representative on Children (USA), was
officially inaugurated on Monday August 5th, 2002, by the Hon.
Minister of State, Basic Secondary and Girl Child Education,
Madam Christine Churcher. The mission of the Apeadu Center is
to serve as an international center for displaced youth from
every facet of life, focusing on the transformation from a
culture of violence and wars into a culture of peace and
non-violence.
THE PROBLEM targeted by the 2002 Apeadu
Leadership Program: THE NORTHERN CONFLICT
At the 2002 ACPC Program, the prominent
recurring problem discussed by people from fifteen countries
including Ghana, USA, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Canada, Ukraine,
Spain, Japan, Philippines, Togo, Benin, and the United Kingdom,
was the conflicts in the Northern Region
Acknowledging the grievous and devastating
nature of the Northern conflict, it was resolved that we should
take every meaningful step to help find a lasting solution to
the conflict. Consequently, we the young peace builders in
Ghana have outlined the following approaches in addressing the
conflict in the North with our work.
PHASE ONE: Proclamation of Peace
The first approach is a peaceful march
through the principal streets of Accra to proclaim peace in the
North. A call would be made on government, civil society,
chiefs, individuals and all Ghanaians not to engage in any
activity that is likely to polarize the North and for that
matter Ghana. Leaflets, posters and banners depicting a
peaceful Ghana would be distributed as part of the peace walk.
The proposed date for the peace walk is
September 21st 2002, same day as world peace day.
Action Plan for the Northern Conflict
PHASE TWO: Youth Workshops
The youth of today are undoubtedly future
leaders of tomorrow. To be able to create a peaceful
society in the future, the main target should be the youth.
As a result, the second phase of our campaign would
target the youth in Northern Ghana particularly students.
The form to be used here would mainly be workshops.
Two workshops would be organized in Tamale and Yendi at
different times.
It is assumed that most of the students in
Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in Tamale and Yendi are
predominantly Dagombas. The workshop will as well draw
some students from other villages as Savelugu, Tolon, Nanton,
Kumbungu, etc.
These youth would be trained in negotiation
skills, dialogue, compromise and consensus-building.
Since this project is supposed to be an ongoing one, the
trainers would equally be expected to train their colleagues in
future. It is hoped that if this project continues for
some reasonable period of time, the youth would inculcate the
ideas of peace, love, and unity. The culture of
violence and wars would eventually pave the way for the
culture of peace and non-violence.
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Related Projects
In the wake of the Rwanda genocide in
mid-1994, a joint delegation from Search for Common
Ground (SCG) and Refugees International visited neighboring Burundi to see what could be
done to prevent similar events in Rwanda from occurring in
Burundi.
After extensive consultation with NGO and
government counterparts, a field office was opened in Bujumbura
in 1995 with the goal of reducing ethnic conflict and
encouraging reconciliation. There are currently four
in-country programs aimed at ethnic reconciliation and
decreasing levels of distrust and violence: a radio studio, a
women’s peace center, a youth project and an integration
initiative.
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©2003 Children of the Earth, Inc.
