This online community will now work collectively & collaboratively to address peace and security challenges.
ACCORD officially launched the ACCORD Network (ACCNET) online community on 23 August 2023, as a pledge to help peace practitioners connect with each other, build skills, and access resources to assist in peace and security initiatives.
The network members will be presented with opportunities to attend ACCORD trainings and events, and to strengthen their conflict management skills through online courses. The members will also have access to resources and tools on conflict analysis, dialogue, negotiation, mediation, and peacebuilding via the ACCNET portal.
ACCNET offers various avenues for multi-dimensional stakeholders to connect with each other, exchange knowledge, pool multidisciplinary expertise, generate discussions on a range of thematic issues, and explore innovative strategies to address peace and security challenges. The platform will help facilitate social compacts and multi-disciplinary analysis on emerging fault-lines, disputes, and conflict management processes. As ACCORD’s Manager of Applied Knowledge and Learning Mr Philip Visser said during the launch, “To attain the Africa and the world that we want, then we must acknowledge that one person or organization cannot do that by themselves. This means that we have to work collectively and collaboratively, and we have to build a community like ACCNET.”
The interest in ACCNET during the launch was palpable. Words of encouragement and affirmation were shared by stakeholders, such as Dr Rhuks Ako from the African Union who said, “I think ACCORD has been a trailblazer when it comes to developing the human capacity towards dispute resolution. So I’m not surprised that this initiative has come from ACCORD”. Mr Kennedy Walusala from the Multifunctional Youth Forum in Kenya, also reflected and commented on the value of having a community like ACCNET. He highlighted how ACCNET as a Community of Practice will help cut the bureaucracy by allowing everyone to connect horizontally, while accessing information freely.
The network seeks to inform and encourage locally driven conflict management solutions within the continent. Therefore, through ACCNET, ACCORD’s strategic efforts to strengthen the role that multi-dimensional stakeholders play in preventing, mitigating and resolving conflict will be enhanced.
