BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO AREF’s PROJECT COMPACT:


THE NEED FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE:

“Wars start in the minds of men, and it is indeed, in the minds of men that the defenses for peace must be built. At the dawn of the 21st Century, a most profound but subtle change had occurred in the minds of enlightened world leaders. Instead of insisting on preparing for war to ensure peace, the real need is now perceived as being preparing for peace in order to avoid wars” …Chief Segun Olusola, Founder/Patron of AREF (in his introductory address to the Project COMPACT participants at the beginning of the one-day COMPACT Take-off/Orientation Programme in November, 2000 at the AREF Operations Headquarters Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria).


PROJECT COMPACT is designed to foster peace, encourage reconciliation and prevent conflicts within our nation-state.

The Project obtained the approval and support of the African Union for its continental outings, viz. in Lagos, Nigeria in 2001; Capetown, South Africa [collaborating Agency – Desmond Tutu Educational Trust Fund, 2003]; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [collaborating Agency – Africa Humanitarian Action [AHA]]. These programmes were facilitated by grants from the African Union & the Japanese Government.

AREF’s role in the development of a “PEACE CORPS” of MEDIATORS is, by necessity, a catalytic one: The UNESCO-motivated CULTURE OF PEACE, and the International Training Institute for Peace [ITIP] Nigeria experience, are both antecedents of AREF’s current preoccupation with the Selection and Training of Peace Mediators. It is a Training-of-Trainers Workshop to be replicated all over Nigeria, as a long-term strategy for peace-building and conflict transformation.

It is the belief of the African Refugees Foundation that events in different parts of our country, today, urge us to redesign and present this unique programme for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians. To this effect, AREF’s mission is to:

[a] Develop and procure teaching materials on Peace Education from all possible sources within and outside the African continent;

[b] Draw on Nigerian cultural strengths and value systems to devise unique solutions to real and present conflicts in Nigeria.

[c] Circulate nationwide proceedings, research findings and real successes in the prevention of conflicts and promotion of peacemaking in the Nigerian nation, as part of a long-term strategy for developing the CULTURE OF PEACE throughout Nigeria.

AREF BACKGROUND:
The African Refugees Foundation from inception has played a unique role in African Refugees-Mediation, while developing various strategies to alleviate the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons all over the continent.

Previously, AREF had successfully initiated and executed the following projects relevant to Peace Mediation.

1. The AREF/EU Democracy in Peace Initiative held in Ibadan in February 1999. This Workshop was conceived and executed by AREF in the throes of the Nigerian transition to civil rule and was supported by the European Union.

2. The AREF Newsletter, 12 [twelve] issues of which AREF produced and circulated worldwide in its Peace Advocacy Initiative from 1994-2001.

3. The re-structuring of AREF as a truly humanitarian, self-development and affirmative action African organisation dedicated to Anticipating disasters, Rehabilitating victims, Encouraging Peace and Facilitating development through its numerous programmes and projects; especially:

· The Peace Education for West African Communities [PEWAC]
· The Corps of Mediators, Peace-makers and Promoters of the Culture of Peace Training [COMPACT]
· African Garments For African Refugees [AGAR].


AREF AREAS OF COMPETENCE:
· Policy and Strategy
· Information, Education and Prevention
· Relief and Rehabilitation
· Research and Planning

AREF PREVIOUS “HANDS-ON” EXPERIENCE:
· Rwanda Relief Air-lift [1994]
· UNDP – Sponsored Floods-Damage Assessment/Intervention [1995]
· AREF Chapters-Take-off: U.K., Kenya, U.S.A., Cote d’Ivoire etc. [1996 – 1999]
· Quick Impact Projects [QIPs]: Pomade/Soap making and Tie & Dye in North-East Gacakio and Bossaso, Somalia for Somali Refugees [1997]
· Project COMPACT Workshops held in Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa [2001– 2003].




The Project C.O.M.P.A.C.T. WORKSHOP:

Prospective participants:

Human & Civil liberties organizations, humanitarian organizations, diplomatic missions, United Nations’ organizations, all relevant non-governmental organizations, religious organizations, peace education institutions, relevant government parastatals, relevant federal government ministries, the international community, both the organized private and informal sectors of the economy, as well as State/Local Governments.

Benefits:

This Project will further enhance the achievement of some of the Millennium Development Goals in the areas of improving peace education, communal stability and accelerate the development of global partnership for development.

Presentations peculiar to, or of special interest to the hosting State will be solicited and/or commissioned for presentation at the workshop and particular emphasis will be placed on CREATIVE APPROACHES to PEACE EDUCATION, especially the use of TOTAL THEATRE and THEATRE-FOR-DEVELOPMENT strategies to reach out to the masses, and across language barriers.

The challenge is for participants (BOTH Trainers and Trainees) to dig into their cultural bags in order to ramify positive Nigerian values, while discouraging the negative aspects that have become out-dated and irrelevant to modern existence. This is the forte of this present approach to Peace Education, specifically designed for Nigeria.

The following activities are envisaged as part of this project:

a] Designated officials of AREF will liaise with institutions in each State of operation, and confirm their willingness to collaborate on the project, prior to the execution of each workshop.

b] Each Workshop will have as its aim, the selection and training of a minimum of 50 professionals from all fields of human endeavour, who will form the core of a corps of mediators, peacemakers and promoters of the culture of peace training programme. It is essentially a training-of-trainers Workshop.

c] AREF will publish the proceedings of each Workshop to form a compendium documenting the contribution of the continent to the campaign for peace, for distribution to various member States of the African Union, and to the rest of the humanitarian and democratic world.

d] AREF will also work towards establishing a Nigerian Peace Monitoring and Network channel for the purpose of developing early warning strategies to diffuse tension in areas of anticipated conflicts, as well as network with various organizations in emergency preparedness training.



DURATION OF THE WORKSHOP:
The 3-5-days Peace Mediators’ Essential Knowledge/Skills Course schedule is patterned with a minimum of 5 Consultants from AREF, and a maximum of 7 consultants/trainers selected from the hosting State’s governmental and non-governmental organizations, associations and institutions relevant to Peace Education.

Ideally, Monday to Friday should be dedicated totally to the Workshop, with arrivals and departures scheduled for Sunday & Saturday respectively. The time-table requires a full 8-hour participation per day i.e. 8:30am – 5:30pm, with a 1-hour lunch break, and two tea breaks which can be accommodated with the working schedules; but the final time-table of each Workshop is as agreed upon between AREF & the Host/Co-Facilitator state.

TARGET PARTICIPANTS:
The beneficiaries of the Workshop must number at least 30 [fifty] with a maximum participation of 50 people, and each 11/2 hr presentation stipulates at least a 30-minute syndicate session during which participants will work in groups of between 10 and 20, on specific assignments. The daily briefings and adaptation exercises will be conducted in full plenary sessions. The dragnet for participants should be as widespread as possible but the C.O.M.P.A.C.T. Workshop has been designed for professionals from all fields of human endeavour, interested in Peace Education, and able to benefit maximally from an intensive and inter-active intellectual and cultural orientation, which will enhance their professional practice, as well as equip them with the ability to be part of an effective PEACE CORPS for Nigeria. Others targeted are traditional leaders, youth/women opinion-molders etc.

PRESENTATIONS:

Standard course-presentations by AREF Consultants will include:

· CONFLICT AND REFUGEE GENERATION IN NIGERIA: A REVIEW.

· WAR MAKING, PEACE-MAKING AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION TRANSFORMATION IN NIGERIA.


· CULTURE, DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF PEACE FROM THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE.

· PEACE EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN COMMUNITIES.

· HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF PEACE IN NIGERIA.

· PRACTICAL ROLE PLAY IN RESOLVING & AMELIORATING CONFLICTS – DRAMATIC PRESENTATION.

Other presentations to be prepared well in advance preferably by States consultants/presenters will be as relevant to each state, but from the following:


· ESSENTIAL TRAINING AND CODE OF CONDUCT FOR NIGERIAN MEDIATORS.

· INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND PEACE-BUILDING IN NIGERIA.

· PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICTS.
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· EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: AN AID TO PEACE-BUILDING;

· PRACTICAL NEGOTIATION, ROLE-PLAYING AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING IN MEDIATION.

· THE MASS MEDIA IN MEDIATION AND PROMOTION OF THE CULTURE OF PEACE.

· TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE.

The proposed Timetable will provide a framework within which all presentations and exercises can be contained to maximize the use of the period dedicated to the Workshop. It also allows for flexibility and a wide scope of subjects and practicals. The Briefings and Adaptations, where applicable, will allow for varied opinions and evaluations in a practical manner, and the Course Quiz and Final Evaluation both help to arrive at a consensus, especially towards future action.

Proposed CRS Sponsors & Collaborators:

Cross River State Government, Local Ministry of Re-orientation & Information, Development, Education, Culture, Specialized Agencies & Institutions and relevant NGOs.