Fayzabad, the capital city of Badakhshan, was host to the fourth event of a series of peace forums on 24 May 2021 entitled “Badakhshan Forum for Peace.” More than 60 participants including local officials, academics, peace experts and activists, students and representatives of various social groups from the host province of Badakhshan and its neighboring provinces of Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan participated in the in the peace forum. The event is implemented in the framework of the project “Reaching Out for Peace”, and it is a partnership between Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Afghanistan, Mediothek Afghanistan and Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO) and funded also by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Afghanistan. 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 Badakhshan 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. FES representative Omulbanin Paigeer says the event is a good opportunity for finding practical and effective solutions to the challenges facing peace at local levels and reaching a lasting peace, expressing hope that the project will prove helpful in ensuring a lasting peace and stability in the country. Local officials: Hope for peace is a part of peace Speaking at the opening of the event, Anis Gul Akhgar, a gender expert and representative of Governor of Badakhshan, said that the more war and conflict linger in the country, the more the social life of the people will be spoiled, therefore citizens need to realize the devastating consequences of war and the benefits of peace at various levels and such events provide those learning opportunities. Ms. Akhgar called the implementation of the project and discussions about peace and citizens’ participation in these events a sign of fervent public interest and hope for peace in the country, adding that Afghans lived in war for the past 40 years and experienced nothing but war and violence. Introducing successful experiences of peacebuilding and comparing them with the peace process in Afghanistan A comprehensive survey of successful experiences of peacebuilding cases from other countries and regions was presented by Mohammad Ehsan Sadaat, a presentative of APPRO through an informative and educational presentation. The presentation also provided an in-depth analysis of the current peace process in Afghanistan, its nature, challenges and stakeholders and the major difference and similarities of the process with those of other countries and regions. Identifying local actors and solutions to local conflicts through group work discussion: 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 friend atmosphere and pose their questions to experts and representatives of local government. Emphasis on localization of activities and initiatives Speaking at the concluding part of the one-day dialogue, Zia Sadr, a representative of Mediothek Afghanistan, acknowledged the participants, on behalf of the organizers, for their active participation in the event and their keen interest and commitments for peacebuilding. He briefly summarized the forum. Sadr stressed that peace is not possible without meaningful public participation at grass-root levels, and the drivers of conflict must be identified at local levels and solution much come from locals themselves, too. “In order to achieve a lasting peace and peaceful society, challenges to peace and factors of conflict must first be identified and then practical, effective and indigenous solutions must be provided,” added Sadr and stressed that unity, understanding and coherence of social activities are key to ensure peace in the country and that individual efforts and actions and incoherent activities will not yield any results. The Badakhshan Forum for Peace is the fourth forum in a series forums on peace. The previous three forums were held in Kandahar, Herat and Balkh 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.
