Monrovia–The Center for Security Studies and Development (CENSSAD) is expected to commence a series of town hall meetings for local women and local stakeholders in six counties this December 2024 aimed at promoting nonviolence and national reconciliation.
The meetings are expected to take place in Lofa, Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Sinoe, Rivercess, and Cape Mount counties under CENSSAD’s ongoing project titled ‘’Amplifying Women’s Voices: Understanding and Tearing Down the Barriers to Women’s Participation in Liberia’s Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Processes.”
The selected counties have been assessed as being particularly vulnerable to violence and demonstrating low levels of reconciliation in the past, says a CENSSAD press release.
The meetings will provide the platforms for local women to utilize the knowledge gained from capacity-building training workshops, which were conducted by CENSSAD as part of the project, to advocate for their inclusion in peace and reconciliation programs at the local levels. At the same time, participating women will have the chance to express their opinion about what they want local authorities to do to address women’s marginalization.
The town hall meeting dialogues will bring together local stakeholders and community members (county superintendents, city mayors, security personnel, representatives from the Ministry of Gender, traditional leaders, local authorities, women, youth, and people with disabilities) and local women.
It will serve as a consensus building on women’s participation in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes. Community members and women will collaboratively discuss what they could do themselves within their communities or counties to mitigate obstacles to women’s participation in reconciliation and peacebuilding.
At the end of the county-level dialogue cycle, participants will identify Champions for Reconciliation among the dialogues’ participants. Champions for Reconciliation are envisioned as individuals who are knowledgeable about reconciliation and capable of liaising with the Office of the Superintendent and local and national leaders to advise or advocate for actions that enhance the local reconciliation process. Each town hall meeting will cover two days.
This project contributes to the establishment of an inclusive reconciliation process that aligns with both the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the 2017 Liberia Peacebuilding Plan (LPP). It is supported with the German Federal Foreign Office’s Funds, through the Zivik Funding Program.