Delegates and Pioneers come together in Harare for monitoring and evaluation of peace building programmes

28 September 2012, Harare – Zimbabwe: In the shadow of deep poverty and high unemployment, a group of motivated change-makers are working to reduce youth violence, and transform conflict, in different communities in Zimbabwe. These Generations For Peace (GFP) volunteers were recently given a boost by a Refresher Workshop held in Harare. More than thirty GFP Delegates joined more experienced, certified, GFP Pioneers to pave the strategic path forward for their programmes in their own local communities.

By using sport-based activities as an entry point, the GFP Delegates and Pioneers are able to engage with the youth in their communities, and then, over time, to build in educational activities and peer group discussions to address issues of conflict and violence.

Since 2008, a small group of GFP-trained Delegates has conducted numerous programmes in Zimbabwe to train volunteers in varying sports for peace and development techniques that are applicable to different age groups in their local communities. With each new workshop, the number of locally trained, second generation Delegates, has grown; Zimbabwe now boasts a total of 70 trained Delegates and five certified Pioneers working together to reduce conflict.

At the workshop, Daphne Mawunge, a GFP Delegate working in Harare’s southern, high-density suburb of Mbare, shared that “the urge to improve dialogue and tolerance in my community was the major push for my involvement in Generations For Peace.” Such sentiments seem to be shared across the upcoming generations of volunteers who are mobilised and trained through the cascading process.

The different sessions in the Refresher Workshop brought Pioneers and Delegates up to speed on the latest developments in GFP’s comprehensive curriculum, strengthened their skills to better serve their communities, and provided the critical monitoring and evaluation of the implemented programmes. Mawunge believes that “this workshop enhanced my skills, making me a well-equipped and skilled facilitator who will be able to tackle conflict tactfully – without causing further damages to an already fragile environment.” Ephraim Katongo, a GFP Delegate teaching in Harare Chisipite Senior School, where he organises activities for children and youth, commented: “I do believe that this Refresher Workshop will reaffirm the Generations For Peace spirit of ‘Passing it on’.”

Notes to Editors:

Generations For Peace (GFP) is an Amman-based, global, non-profit organisation founded by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan which is dedicated to sustainable peace building and the use of sport for conflict transformation.

By providing unique training and continuous mentoring support to volunteer leaders of youth, GFP empowers them to lead and cascade change in their communities, promoting active tolerance and responsible citizenship and working at the grass roots to address local issues of conflict and violence.

GFP programmes target adult and youth leaders who are influential in their communities, and children and adolescents who are the future of any community. Carefully facilitated, sport-based games and activities provide an entry point to engage children and adolescents, and a vehicle for integrated education and behavioural change.

Since 2007, GFP has trained and mentored almost 6,000 Delegates and Pioneers from more than 45 countries and territories in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. These peace-building efforts have touched the lives of more than 90,000 children and youth.

Generations For Peace Media Team
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