The role of Youth and Leaders in the prevention of Violent Extremism in Ruvuma

 Peacebuilding and resilience Communities:

The role of Youth and  Leaders  in the prevention of Violence Extremism in Ruvuma

By Dr. Roseline Fatma Waziri

The legitimacy and value of youth’s role in peacebuilding have advanced Youth in the awareness and mobilization of youth engagement and participation in peacebuilding for resilient communities in Southern regions of Tanzania, bordering Mozambique and Malawi through the #VijananaAmani255 project.

The project is implemented jointly by Global Peace Foundation Tanzania in collaboration the with Prime Minister’s Office, Tanzania Scouts Association, Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, Youth of United Nations Association of Tanzania, and Global Network of Religions and Children (GRCF) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Facilitation during the Youth groups Peace Building awareness in Ruvuma

The project focuses on communities along Tanzania’s southern border, supporting the East African Plan of Action on Youth, Peace, and Security. It is evident that the role of youth in the prevention of Violent Extremism has increasingly been recognized as essential to positively preventing violent, conflicts and building the foundations of peaceful communities.

 However, much of this discourse focuses on generalizations and often fails to highlight the evidence behind these assertions. As a result, key decision-makers tend to have a limited understanding of what youth-led building looks like in grassroots communities.  

In the month of November 2022, #VijanaNaAmani255 project activities have been done in Ruvuma Region by conducting peace-building training in Tunduru District and Nyasa District. The training included; two Workshops with Local Government Authorities on Youth engagement in Peacebuilding, two workshops with religious leaders, cultural leaders, and caregivers/parents, on peacebuilding, two Capacity building workshops on Youth participation in peacebuilding for Youth of Influential community groups, and peacebuilding awareness workshops for students in eight schools and two colleges. The Lukumbule Ward, Narasi Ward, Misechela Ward, Namasakata Ward, Mchangani Ward and Matemanga Ward, in Tunduru District, we targeted while in Nyasa District we targeted Chiwanda Ward, Mpepo Ward, Mbambabay Ward, Kilosa Ward.

Tanzania Scouts Association, the Project partner facilitating during the Peace Building workshop in Ruvuma

All these wards are located along the southern border of Tanzania with Mozambique which needs special attention and consideration due to this geographic location. The workshop involved a total of 25 participants (15 Females and 10 Males) which included; four Ward Land councils, one District Youth Development Officer, two District Community Development officers, one District Commissioner of Scouts, five Ward Executive/Education Officers, five Village Executive Officers, two Social Work Officers, one District Media Officer, two District Migration Officers.

The purpose was to empower LGAs in engaging young people in peacebuilding for resilient communities and sustainable development. The LGA are the ones who are regularly working on peace issues, and they have a role to engage youth in decision-making.

Speaking on the opening of the workshop the acting District Commissioner of Nyasa, who is also District Commissioner of Mbinga, Aziza Ally Msongosso congratulated GPF for taking lead in the initiative, “I would like to thank Global Peace Foundation Tanzania for taking initiative to conduct this workshop in our district. Today, I am happy that we bring together Religious leaders, Parents and Caregivers who are the key guardians of our youth in the community. Let every one of us take an active role in ensuring proper parenting and ensuring youth becomes peace champions in our district". 

With regard to poverty among youth as a push factor to violent acts, the participants agreed to continue empowering the Youth economically so as to reduce the risk of violence recruitment influenced by poverty, as well as create a friendly environment for youth to report early signs of violent extremism in their areas. Engaging them in community entrepreneurship and livelihood programs through capacity building and training and loan accessing was among the key points discussed. 

In support of that, Mr. Nassibu Mwaifunga, of the PMOs pledged that  “I would like to assure you all that, the Prime Minister’s Office is ready to provide loans to youth groups of up to 50,000,000/=. I am calling the District Commissioner’s Office to submit proposals for youth who needs such support and we will work on them because funds are there and they have been specifically allocated for youth. Let us ensure they grab this important opportunity since it has a direct impact on the peace and security of their areas”. said Mwaifunga. 

 It is high time now for the inclusion of youth in decision-making by participating in conferences, producing policy papers, organizing forums, as well as establishing alliances, networks, councils, and clubs to connect young peacebuilders, build their capacity and leadership, and promote their participation in peacebuilding frameworks.

Much of the value of this work lies in the youth’s ability for outreach and mobilization, reaching young people that governments and international organizations often fail to reach. They are very much at the frontlines of peacebuilding in their community, acting as the ‘eyes and ears of their youth constituencies. While the evidence gap is likely closing, there is still a need to map out the innovative ways in which youth peacebuilders operate within their context, in order to demonstrate that investing in youth peacebuilders is key to building resilience among their communities and countries. In the end, both workshop participants agreed to engage youth on peace issues through village meeting levels by providing awareness to young people.

Success

GPF and its partners have successfully received strong support and collaboration with the authorities in Ruvuma from the Regional level, to District Level to the community (grassroots). Also, we successfully met with a relevant audience targeted from the respective areas which are the most vulnerable to violent extremism. We successfully engaged people with disabilities in the workshops with LGAs in pursuit to leave no one behind

Lessons Learned

There were a lot of things to share from the community among themselves concerning the matter of the prevention of violent extremism. Time was not enough at all considering that we had to wrap up the training sessions early to allow those who were living very far from the training venue to be able to get transport. It seems one day for the workshop with LGAs was not enough, we need to conduct it for at least two or three days with residential facilities for participants. The fact that LGAs in Ruvuma are well aware of the matter of violent extremism and were open and willing to share what happens in their areas as well as what efforts they are doing to PVE. For effective coordination of the project, early confirmation with local authorities as well as participants of the events is highly needed to make the project successful.

 

Challenges

The number of women was low compared to men due to the fact that, few women are in leadership positions.

Recommendations / Way forward

        i.            There should be more and regular training on peace and security to the District Council leaders

       ii.            During the training, LGAs at the local level, (Villages, wards, hamlets/Vitongoji) and villages’ security and safety committees should be involved so that to engage more key grassroots stakeholders.

     iii.            The number of days should be increased from one day to at least two days to enable participants to cover more details. Participants need more discussion and enough time to develop action plans.

 

 

Agreed follow-up activities

     i.   The LGAs members agreed to provide awareness of peace among youth in their community meetings.

The LGAs agreed to continuously support young people economically to reduce the possibility of VE