News: Chemonics Presents at #PeaceCon2016

Chemonics is participating in the Alliance for Peacebuilding Annual Conference, which focuses on sharing tools and lessons learned to address violence, in Washington, D.C., from May 24-26.

How can development interventions effectively address the complex challenges facing communities grappling with violence? What lessons have we learned through our work in conflict and post-conflict settings? What are the tools and methods that best galvanize communities to work together to address violence and promote security and peace?

The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) is holding its annual conference from May 24-26 in Washington, D.C. Chemonics is pleased to be joining the AfP this year — for the first time — to work together to discover ways to promote peace worldwide.

The AfP’s #PeaceCon2016 addresses the human, environmental, and financial costs of violence, and serves as a vital opportunity for donors, policymakers, military members, and professionals in the development, human rights, and environmental protection fields to learn from one another. It’s now more important than ever to draw on our collective knowledge to create new frameworks for peace and to reduce violence.

Chemonics is excited to take part in #PeaceCon2016 at this critical time, and to share our experiences working to prevent and mitigate violence, strife, and suffering in settings worldwide, specifically with a presentation on the Côte d’Ivoire Transition Initiative 2 (CITI2). On Day 2 of the conference, Youssouf Touré, a program development officer on CITI2, will join a panel titled, “Alors, On Danse: Art, Hip Hop, Music, And Filmmaking as a Path to Tolerance and Understanding.” Chemonics’ Conflict and Crisis Practice Director Michele Piercey will moderate the panel.

Since 2014, CITI2 has addressed community grievances, bridged divides, and supported a credible electoral process — with the primary goal of preventing violence associated with the presidential elections, which took place in October 2015. For the first time in 20 years, Côte d’Ivoire held a peaceful presidential election, marking a major milestone in the country’s history.

“This conference is significant because it brings together peacebuilding and conflict mitigation practitioners from around the world to share experiences and learn about best practice in peace and development,” explained Michele Piercey. “Chemonics is especially proud to showcase the accomplishments of CITI2 in this forum because it was so effective in tapping into Ivorians’ shared cultural identity to foster peaceful dialogue and tolerance of opposing views.

“It might surprise some to learn how effective art, music, film, and other means of storytelling can be as a method of building peace between parties to a conflict. It provokes an emotional response in people, helps them express their feelings and feel understood, builds empathy, increases understanding, and generally makes it difficult to stay angry.”

This achievement was made possible through the dedication of everyday Ivoirians and those active in their communities, including actors and musicians, female leaders, television and radio producers, DJs, religious leaders, and elections officials. Chemonics is proud to have supported Ivoirians in laying foundations for peace through these activities that brought such diverse groups together.

For more information about specific sessions during the conference, visit the AfP website. And be sure to follow the conversation at #PeaceCon2016.