|
Draft Culture of Peace Programme in Mozambique 17-18 VI. STRATEGIC GUIDELINES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROGRAMME A. Main Guidelines of the Programme * A National and Participative Programme The Culture of Peace Programme in Mozambique is based upon the spontaneous process of peace and reconciliation which the people of Mozambique have been undertaking since the Rome Peace Agreement of 1992. All aspects of the Programme are designed to strengthen the ongoing activities of the Mozambican people themselves. Therefore, the actors are Mozambican and the content of the message is based upon Mozambican traditions and experiences. In order to achieve this, all project planning and implementation involves the full participation of the people who are the beneficiaries. At the highest level this will be ensured by a National Steering Committee comprised of representatives of all of the major partners, both governmental and non-governmental, and reflecting all parts of the country and all political and social tendencies. At the local level it will be ensured by community involvement: for example, school programmes take place in community schools which are under community control and radio programmes are broadcast on community radio under community control. * A Cross-Cultural, Cross-Conflict and Multi-Language Programme The Programme involves all sectors of the Mozambican people regardless of their ethnic background, the languages they speak, or on which side of the previous conflict they were engaged. Projects are designed to be "cross-ethnic" and "cross-conflict" in the participation of people from different ethnic groups and from both sides of the previous conflict in the planning of the project and implementation of particular activities. In this way there should be no tendency for development to proceed in terms of domination by any one locality or ethnic group, representing any one political tendency. Special resources and attention are given to the preparation and provision of materials in national languages as well as Portuguese. * A Long-Term Programme of Education and Training The cultivation of a culture of peace is a long-term process in which the fruits can only be fully harvested from one generation to another. Hence, the emphasis is placed on activities of training and capacity-building. The trainers are teachers, women activists, demobilized soldiers, social workers, media workers, development workers who receive in-service training in the culture of peace (conflict resolution techniques based on Mozambican traditions and civic education in democracy and human rights). In addition to the instruction they give, they become part of a permanent network of "peace-promoters" who contribute at the community level to participation, cooperation and non-violent resolution of conflicts and they ensure that people of all ethnic and language groups and all sides of previous conflicts take full part in the project concerned. * A Programme of Endogenous Capacity Building The Programme does not develop new or parallel organizational structures, but works through and supports those Mozambican organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, which already exist and deliver services in the area concerned. Thus, most of the training consists of in-service training to the members and staff of existing organizations. For the most part, trainers are local personnel, while the use of international personnel and consultants is minimized. Projects are designed to strengthen the partner organizations, with an emphasis on the strengthening of their local units, e.g. community schools and radios. * A Programme with Well-Defined Priories Since no programme can be expected to reach the entire population at once, this Programme sets as priorities those target populations who have the potential to change the attitudes and behaviours of the entire country through their influence, both in the short-term (for example, demobilized soldiers, media workers, and community and elected leaders) and in the long-term (teachers, women, youth, development workers, scientists). Partners for the projects are those organizations which have extensive participative networks at the local level and especially in rural areas among these key populations. * An Holistic and Systematic Programme The emphasis on decentralization and local participation does not mean that the Programme is fragmented. Under the guidance of the National Steering Committee, a process of constant interchange of experiences is to be established between different localities and provinces and across various projects. This is facilitated by the establishment of a network of "peace-promoters" including trainers from all of the projects. The peace-promoters participate in reunions involving peace-promoters from other projects and other areas of the country, and they may be linked by a special system of high-tech communication. * A Programme with an International Dimension Although the major emphasis is placed upon the cultivation of a national and unique Mozambican culture of peace, it is also recognized that the task of building a culture of peace is a sub-regional, regional, and international challenge. Therefore, each project contains at least one component which provides for the exchange of information and experience with other culture of peace programmes and related activities, as well as useful technical information on a international basis. A special emphasis is placed on such exchange with other countries of the Southern African sub-region.
|
||||