Peacebuilders
Chevening 2010
5 May 2010
January saw the start of this year's Chevening Senior Fellows course on Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR). RTC has been tutoring on the course since 2008 and in 2009 became one of three formal programme partners alongside The University of York's Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU) and International Alert.
CPR brings together mid-career professionals such as government officials and community and NGO leaders from countries affected by conflict. Throughout the course Fellows develop practical skills in conflict resolution including conflict analysis and approaches to help them to prevent and transform conflict in their own communities.
During the course Fellows spend two weeks on a work placement with an organisation in the UK to help them further develop and apply the skills they are learning. This year, RTC was privileged to have hosted Stephen Kirimi Mwamba from Kenya, and Saeed Mohamoud from Somaliland.
RTC spent a while talking to Stephen and Saeed about their work, their experiences on the Chevening programme, and their hopes for the future.
Stephen Kirimi Mwamba
Background
In his home country of Kenya, Stephen works for the Peace and Development Network (PeaceNet) as their Programme Administrator. PeaceNet is a national network of organisations based in Nairobi that aims to bring together a range of people with the goal of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. PeaceNet was founded in 1992 as a means for three organisations (Oxfam GB, the Anglican Development Desk and Mennonite Central Committee) to collaborate, but it has since grown into a much larger initiative that currently brings together over two hundred registered organisations in eleven networks across Kenya's eight provinces.
The origins of PeaceNet lie in the 1992 Kenyan general elections, the first multi-party elections to be held in Kenya. As with the disputed 2007 elections, the results were met with violent land clashes between political opponents and their supporters, though on a much smaller scale than the more recent violence. At the time ethnicity was a key factor used to drive opposing sides into continuing the violence. During the conflict it was difficultfor relief agencies gain access to those who needed support due to government restrictions, so the early work of PeaceNet involved advocating on behalf of the population so that the relief efforts could be allowed to work.
The conflict caused the displacement of thousands of people. When the fighting stopped, PeaceNet opened a dialogue with those occupying land formerly belonging to people displaced by the conflict, which enabled many of those affected to return to their homes and communities.
Following the post-election violence of 2007-2008, PeaceNet introduced an early warning system that used mobile text messaging to connect communities, increase awareness of violent outbreaks as they happened and prepare effective responses much more quickly.
PeaceNet's current work spans five programmes: 1) Research and documentation, 2) Membership and networking, 3) Advocacy and information, 4) Human security and development, 5) Training and capacity building. Stephen's role is to co-ordinate these programmes by harmonising them, monitoring and evaluating their impact, and finding funding to ensure they continue.
Learning experience
Chevening tutor Dr Vesna Matovic, an RTC Peace and Conflict Advisor, with Chevening Fellows Dr Suleman Sultan Rana (left) and George Esambe Ngwane (right).
Talking about his learning experience, Stephen continued, "It was much more than I expected it to be. I learned a lot. Before then I had never had a chance to sit in a class room and think through my own conflict situation, or to interact with people from other countries who could share their views with me, particularly from western Africa [Liberia], Somalia and Bosnia.
By working with those in other situations it somehow made the conflict more real to me. I learned to place Kenya into a global perspective, and I realised that I need to play a bigger role in peacebuilding, not just in Kenya, but throughout the world.
I thought Kenya was the most violent place in the world, but having spoken to some of these people [the Chevening participants] I'm starting to think maybe Kenya doesn't have it so bad. Sharing with others was a big aspect of the course for me."
During Stephen's time with RTC he was able to apply the skills he'd learned by conducting a conflict analysis on Kenya's central Rift Valley region with support from RTC's Programme team. "I looked at how local level activities related with national level events, with politicians spurring conflict at the national level which then influences violent behaviour between communities at the grassroots level as opposing sides compete for power and control of resources."
The future
Stephen will soon return to Kenya, where he hopes to put his new knowledge to good use. "My main aim is to transfer the skills I've learned while in the UK to others in order to multiply myself and allow myself and my colleagues to work much more effectively. I also hope to focus my efforts more, and help to design PeaceNet's programmes better using the knowledge I've learned about conflict resolution while in the UK."
As part of the peace agreement that followed the post-election violence of 2007-2008, both political parties agreed to various reforms that are seen by many as vital if violence is to be prevented at the next elections in 2012. These include introducing a new constitution that devolves powers from the president, reforming the policing system, and improving the justice system, in particular the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past crimes. Since Stephen left RTC it has been revealed that the Kenyan parliament has approved a draft of the new constitution, a landmark development we are sure Stephen will be thrilled to hear.
Many people, including Stephen, fear that the reform process is not moving fast enough and that there is a real potential of violence in 2012 because of this. Stephen hopes the skills he learned through the Chevening course will enable him to feed into these processes and help prevent conflict in 2012 and beyond.
Saeed Mohamoud
Background
In his home country of Somaliland, Saeed works for Interpeace (the 'International Peacebuilding Alliance') as their Democratisation Programme Officer. Interpeace is affiliated to the United Nations, and their efforts in Somalia are comprised of three partners: 1) Academy for Peace and Development (APD) in Hargeisa in the north west/Somaliland, 2) Puntland Development and Research Center (PDRC) in Garowe in the north east/Puntland and 3) Center for Research and Dialogue (CRD) in Mogadishu in the south.
Interpeace focuses, through its partner APD, on facilitating dialogue between political parties and clans by providing a neutral space at the APD in Hargeisa so that progress can be made towards peace. Since 2005 they have also been involved in Somaliland's National Electoral Commission (NEC), providing legal advice and training to its members to ensure that future elections are fairer.
In his role as Democratisation Programme Officer Saeed works in the National Electoral Commission compound in Hargeisa where he liaises between political parties and the Electoral Commission, watches political and media developments, and translates between English and Somali. For Saeed, working with National Electoral Commission involves resolving many small issues that arise between people which if not prevented in time can erupt into violent conflicts.
In 2003, before Saeed joined Interpeace, the presidential elections were won by a margin of only eighty votes, which was disputed by the Opposition. At the time Saeed along with some other eminent personalities helped to reason with the Opposition to accept the outcome.
Learning experience
When asked about his experiences on the Chevening course, Saeed said, "What I learned at Chevening was very relevant to what I am experiencing back home. The material covered many issues and expanded my horizons by giving me a good theoretical understanding of conflict from a variety of schools of thought, which enhanced my skills. I learned to analyse conflicts, which complimented my practical work in Somaliland. It was a very good opportunity for me. It allowed me to cover a variety of issues, meet a range of professionals, and be taught by very competent lecturers."
"Chevening will help to advance our skills [Interpeace], and improve our capacity to resolve issues and prevent conflict back home."
Saeed told us that he made the decision to complete his work placement with RTC long before he arrived in the UK. "I had three colleagues attend training courses run by RTC in 1997, so I knew about RTC before I came. I had a choice of organisations before I came to the UK, and I chose RTC because I knew of you [RTC] from the others, and I knew that RTC has a lot of experience in conflict resolution."
Saeed explained that he'd received a great benefit from working with RTC's Peace and Conflict Advisors, who helped him to complete a conflict analysis on his own situation in Somaliland. "It was a very positive encounter and I was able to receive excellent feedback that helped me to expand my ideas and produce my report."
The future
Upon returning to Somaliland Saeed plans to use his newly developed skills in his daily life. "I work with conflict everyday, even if it's nonviolent. My new-found knowledge has enhanced my capacity to deal with these day-to-day challenges among the range of organisations I work with, some of which I might have struggled with before. I also hope to disseminate my knowledge as widely as possible by writing articles for newspapers, lecturing in the University of Hargeisa's new ‘Conflict Resolution' department, and training my colleagues at Interpeace."
Somaliland is at an important stage in its development and faces many challenges in the future. A number of previous elections have been delayed many times, including presidential elections planned to take place in 2008. These elections are now scheduled for 26th June 2010, so there is the real potential for conflict if any party believes the rules have been violated by another. Interpeace not only supported NEC to implement national voter registration, which is ongoing in Somaliland, but also in preparing for meeting the deadline for presidential elections. Saeed's skills are needed now to avoid a crisis, so he intends to put them to practical use as soon as he can.
For more information about the Chevening programme visit www.chevening.com