Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, hosted the third event of a series of peace forums on 05 April 2021 entitled “Balkh Forum for Peace.” More than 60 participants including local government officials, provincial councils representatives, academics, religious scholars, villager leaders and elders, representatives of migrants and displaced persons, journalists, persons with disabilities, representative of the Chamber of Commerce of Women, craftsmen, private entrepreneurs, civil society activists, students, women and men from the host province of Balkh and its neighboring provinces of Faryab, Samangan, Jawzjan and Sar-e-Pul provinces participated in the in the daylong peace forum. The event is implemented in the framework of the project “Reaching Out for Peace” – a partnership between Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Afghanistan, Mediothek Afghanistan and Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO) and it is also funded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Afghanistan. Speaking at the opening of the event, FES representative Omulbanin Paigeer, talked about the long work history of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) throughout the world and Afghanistan, adding that the Friedrich Ebert Foundation was founded in 1925 and has offices and projects in over 100 countries including Afghanistan since 2002. Promoting and building youth capacity and participation in politics, strengthening women’s political participation with a focus on improving gender equality in leadership, providing resources for conflict resolution and supporting peacebuilding efforts through training and capacity building, strengthening media and freedom of expression, and strengthening civil society, parliament and provincial councils through education and training programs, training workshops and discourses are among the most important goals of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Afghanistan, says Ms. Paigeer. Ehsan Saadat, a representative of APPRO in Afghanistan, presented a comprehensive and contextual presentation on the peace process in Northern Ireland and Colombia, and their similarities and differences with the current peace process in Afghanistan. The presentation created a simulating and exiting atmosphere for the participants to engage in constructive discussions among themselves. The participants were divided into four working groups and asked to work together to identify key issues including public expectations in a post peace agreement environment between the Afghan government and the Taliban, identify four main causes and factors of conflict, management and control options, and key stakeholders in the peace process. Through several working groups, participants worked together to identify mechanisms of addressing local challenges to peace as well as factors and drivers of conflict at community levels. A selected representative of each group presented the results and ideas of the respective group to the larger group and to a panel of four members, including representatives of local government institutions, peace experts and civil society leaders for further analysis and deliberation. This phase provided ample opportunity for participants to engage in honest and in-depth discussion with each other in an open and friendly atmosphere and pose their questions to experts and representatives of local government. The one-day forum for peace continued with a panel discussion in which a deputy governor for Social and Economic Affairs of Balkh Province, Chairman of Balkh Provincial Council, chairman of Balkh Civil Society Association, and a professors of social studies and human rights experts participated. The result of group work reflections were put before the panelists for further discussions. The project is a concerted effort to bring members of local communities, peace experts, local authorities and citizens together to share their views on peacebuilding at community level and discuss challenges to peace at local levels and identify major factors of conflict. The project is also helping broaden the scope of discussions by inviting representatives from neighboring provinces – adding a regional dimension – of the host province to share their views and concerns on local peace and local challenges and how local communities can play a robust role in peacebuilding. The Forums for Peace are planned in Kandahar, Herat, Balkh, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Bamyan, and Kabul but invite participants from all neighboring provinces of each host province thus it is a project of national scope. Two rounds of local forums for peace will be conducted in each of the host province during the project in 2021 and this was the first round of the peace dialogue in Balkh province. The first round of the peace forum is focused on the questions of how locals perceive peace and how citizens at local locals define peace, it also helps participants pin down the most pressing challenges to local peace and local ways of overcoming these challenges. While the second round will help participants delve in deeper discussion on operationalizing their solutions at local levels through dialogues and collaboration. The day-long dialogue concluded with a summary of the day and a review of the topics discussed during the day by Zia Sadr, a presentative of Mediothek Afghanistan. The Balkh Forum for Peace is the third forum in a series forums on peace. The previous two forums were held in Kandahar, Herat provinces. The first round of the Forums for Peace will culminate with a national forum to be held in Kabul with the participation of representatives from all over the country, and the results will be shared with the relevant national and international institutions after thorough analysis and synchronization by experts. The dialogues will continue through the second round of the forums.
