Following the first phase of the local or district level youth and peace training programs across ten provinces in early November 2020, Mediothek Afghanistan organized the second phase of the local/district level workshops across the provinces. The two-day workshops are part of the project “Youth as Multipliers for Peace – Mobilization for and Participation in the Peace Process in Afghan Provinces”.
The district level workshops preceded by an advanced training of trainers (TOT) program for thirty facilitators and peace multipliers from across 10 provinces of Afghanistan held in Kabul for three days at the beginning of this year.
Similar to the first phase of the events the local workshops were conducted by young trainees and peace activists who participated and successfully completed the training of trainer program in Kabul. The local workshops across ten provinces (Badakhshan, Balkh, Bamyan, Ghor, Herat, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, Ningarhar and Kabul) brought together more than three hundred young peace activists, leaders of youth group, social organizers, students and experts from district and local communities to discus and share views about a broad range of issues and topics related to youth and their role in peace-building and political participation in Afghanistan.
“To be frank with you, I had no idea about how important the role of people especially youth is in building a sustainable peace,” say Mai Gull Kamal from Khost province, “this training workshop really helped me learn important issues about our role in peace building, it was a great opportunity.”
Ms. Wagma also a participant in khost province asks for more such opportunities and says that organizing such programs are very essential given the opportunity they present to youth, both male and female, to come together and share their ideas and hear from others about peace and their role in peace building.
The training workshops and dialogues provided an opportunity for young leaders of diverse social and educational backgrounds to engage in constructive and lively discussions about promoting sustainable and inclusive peace at all levels of society. The programs also made available a unique chance for the youth, both men and women, to get involved in the peace process and encouraged them to continue participating in the country’s political processes in the future.
The project as whole aims to help youth raise their voices so that they are taken into account and incorporated by political decision-makers especially in matters relating to peace and peace negotiation and the role of youth in such matters.
The trainers who conducted the local training workshops, two in each of the ten provinces, were trained by an experienced trainer through the main and advanced TOT program held in Kabul. The young trainers are working in their communities to share their knowledge and what they learned from the advanced trainers in Kabul with local youth and their communities.
Ms. Farah Mostafavi, Head of Cultural and Youth of Mediothek Afghanistan says that the main aims of the training programs is to acquaint young people with the role they can play in peace processes in their communities and beyond, it also aims to educate youth about their role is in peace building and where they stand in the peace and reconciliation talks.
The project “Youth as Multipliers for Peace – Mobilization for and Participation in the Peace Process in Afghan Provinces” is aiming to promote a sustainable and inclusive peace at all levels of society by engaging youth and providing them with opportunity to meet and discuss key issues regarding peace and peace negotiations with main stakeholders at local and national levels. The project is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
Herat: https://bit.ly/3gmQ1l8
Balkh: https://bit.ly/39RCUqQ
Kabul: https://bit.ly/2ItpdDm
Khost: https://bit.ly/3lV5lqn
Bamyan: https://bit.ly/33Ua2dU
Nangarhar: https://bit.ly/2VSfnxW
Kandahar: https://bit.ly/3lX8zJM
Ghor: https://bit.ly/3oxRcB1
Badakhshan: https://bit.ly/3goT4ZZ
Kunduz: https://bit.ly/36Wzmla
