As part of a continued effort towards peace in South Sudan, ACCORD convened the “South Sudan Peacebuilding Dialogue and Reflection Seminar” in Juba, South Sudan from 2 to 3 December 2014. This was a follow-on workshop from the South Sudan study tour, entitled, “Enhancing the process of Peacebuilding in South Sudan” which took place in South Africa from 27 to 31 October 2014.
This two-day workshop brought together 18 peacebuilding stakeholders and role-players in the country from the sectors of government and civil-society. The objective of this meeting was to engage with participants and share lessons on reconciliation. The participants were made up of those who attended the study tour in South Africa as well as new participants. Lessons from their experience in South Africa were shared as well as challenges the participants have faced upon returning to Juba. The gathering further acted as a platform for the South Sudanese to share ideas and explore collaboration between actors in promoting peacebuilding in the country. Following the experiences shared during the Study Tour to South Africa, a Zimbabwean perspective and reflection on national healing and Reconciliation was provided by Reverend Cele – an instrumental actor in the Zimbabwean reconciliation process.
During discussions at the workshop, it became apparent that trauma healing and reconciliation are of a significant priority for the country and more effort must be focused on these initiatives. A common plea from various participants has been for the ACCORD intervention to help people live and work together in a peaceful environment – an initiative which ACCORD will follow through on in 2015.
The South Sudan Peacebuilding Dialogue and Reflection Seminar was organised by the Peacebuilding Unit and funded by the Government of Finland. ACCORD is ready to deliver custom-made and highly effective activities for capacity building of peacebuilding actors. Through continued engagements and swift responses to the situation on the ground, ACCORD is poised to stay with and provide timely, quality support to our South Sudan partners throughout the peacebuilding process.
