June 18, 2021 – Recently, 27 Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) Youth Peacemakers held a training for 259 local youths in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State (CES). The workshop – the second one conducted by our Youth Peacemakers for this group of local youths in CES – aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of the youths in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, business, and entrepreneurship. Also included was a special educational session on COVID-19 preventative measures, all of which empowered the youths with the ability to bring about concrete change in their communities.
This five-day workshop was the second in a series of four to be conducted by WPDI’s Youth Peacemakers to establish a youth-based force for peace and transformation in CES. In the face of the multiple challenges affecting South Sudan – including an eight-year civil conflict that has compounded poverty and numerous development gaps – our approach is to foster positive change by providing young women and men with skills and resources that they can mobilize for the benefit of their communities. Our trainings allow for the constitution of cohorts of youths who have the capacity and the confidence to undertake peacebuilding and economic activities that will have a lasting impact on their communities.
As the second of four workshops, the recent trainings built upon what the local youths representing Yei River, Juba, Terekeka, and Lainya counties learned just a few short months ago. In addition to covering topics related to Conflict Resolution Education and Business & Entrepreneurship more widely, Youth Peacemakers provided the local youths with specialized training in conflict mediation, negotiation, how to identify entrepreneurial opportunities, and how to develop their own business plans.
After the workshop concluded, many attendees reported to WPDI that they found the trainings to be empowering and impactful. “I have benefitted a lot from the peacebuilding and conflict resolution education training,” said Pitia, a 28-year-old youth from Terekeka County. “I am going to use the knowledge and skills I gained to mediate conflicts amongst youths in my community, who have been fighting for the past three months.” Another youth, Mary, found the business plan component of the workshop to be especially helpful. She mentioned that “I used to think that my tea business’s competitors were my enemy, but now, I have learned that they can help me be more creative and improve my business. Now, I’m able to write a business plan, which I know will make my tea business better.”
With these results, WPDI and our Youth Peacemakers in CES are confident that the prospects of our youth-led peace force there are strong; many of the local youths are already quite eager to bring about positive change in their communities. In the two workshops to come, we know that they will continue to hone their tools and skills and assume their roles as true changemakers.
