The Angola Country Programme at ACCORD will be hosting a one-day dialogue session for civil society on 2 July 2007, under the theme Conflict Analysis and Peace building in Angola. Thirty participants from the provinces of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico and Luanda are expected to attend the session; among them will be civil society members and conflict resolution practitioners and experts.
The objective of the dialogue is to analyze the current socio-political dynamics and changes that the country is experiencing, focusing specifically on the above mentioned provinces and finding and proposing a way forward, in an attempt to enhance already existing post-conflict reconstruction efforts currently underway in Angola.
Deliberations during the dialogue will be centered on the following themes:
- Civil society strengthening;
- Community reintegration and other related conflicts; and
- Gender and conflict in Angola.
It is anticipated that the dialogue will set the foundation for a four-day conflict management and mediation training for civil society. The training will include a basic and advanced course in conflict management, negotiation and mediation and will run from 3-6 July 2007. 25 participants will attend the training and will consist of civil society representatives and conflict resolution practitioners from Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul and Moxico.
The objectives of the training are:
- To improve the ability of civil society in identifying the cause(s) of conflict and design appropriate responses before dispute situations develop into violent conflict;
- To develop a better understanding of negotiation and mediation in conflict management;
- To develop a team of conflict management practitioners and facilitators; and
- To build the capacity of local civil society organizations to constructively and effectively engage key stakeholders and complement the various initiatives contributing to the peace building process in Angola.
This training will focus primarily on building capacity and the transfer of skills that will assist in responding to any given conflict situation. Both activities will take place in Saurimo, Lunda Sul province.
