Publikation

The Civil Peace Service Programme (CPS) of the EED, the Church De- velopment Service of the association of Germany’s Protestant Churches, in cooperation with its partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the Mano River region of West Africa, seeks to strengthen, in a lasting way, civil organizations and groups – governmental and non-governmental, local, regional and national – around two important objectives. These are:

1. To contribute to efforts to move beyond conflicts that are regional, ethnic, political, religious, etc.

2. To strengthen local initiatives by working together with populations as active players, rather than victims of change

These objectives emerge from contextual analyses, as well as visions of peace and stability that are developed together with our local partners. In light of the wealth and diversity of the efforts of CPS partners, we decided that we would provide in this booklet an outline of the many approaches to peace building. To do so, we first need to redefine what we mean by the concept of peace, and to reflect upon the perceptions of CPS and its intervention rationale. Next, the contributions of various partners will permit the reader to explore the diversified universe of peace work. Lastly, we return to the links among us and our attempts at networking that, for us, constitute essential elements in peace-building in Africa, a fragmenting continent in a globalized world. We thank all our colleagues in partner organisations and all the professional support persons who contributed by providing descriptions of their peace work during the workshop of October 2008 in Goma.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Peace: a used and abused concept

3. Civil Peace Services: perceptions and rationale of intervention

4. The work of CPS in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): margins for action and legitimacy

5. Civil Peace Services: multiple and diverse efforts,one common objective

A. HEAL Africa in North Kivu and Maniema: women move forward without leaving the men behind

B. The Congolese Centre for the Child and Family (CCEF) in Kinshasa

C. The Regional Centre for Support and Training for Development (CRAFOD) in Bas Congo: dialogue among populations and decision-makers

D. The Network for Organisational Innovation (RIO) in South Kivu: peace education

E. The Centre for Training in Management and Organisational Development (CEFORMAD): instruments of governance in the municipality of Kinsenso in Kinshasa

F. The Service for Regional Support and Integrated Development (SADRI) in Katanga: the “peacemakers”

6. Advocacy and Research-Action: two essential axes in peace efforts

a. How to be more effective in our effort to end the culture of violence

against women in our societies?

b. Conflict prevention and peace-building in Guinea –Bissau

7. Partner organizations and professional support persons: an effective complementarity

8. CPS networks: pathways of synergy and complementarities                                              

9. Conclusion

See as well: French Version