“Pasifika Peace Talanoa” Café: Conversations w Peacebuilders

“Pasifika Peace Talanoa” Café: Conversations with Peacebuilders

A key component of building peace is dialogue or the “Talanoa” and a gathering of Pacific Peacebuilders in the coming week hopes to enhance greater conversation not only within civil society but also with regional inter-governmental organisations, UN agencies as well as government officials.

And as part of the annual GPPAC Pacific Regional Steering Group meeting scheduled in Suva from May 10 – 14 a networking event (June 10) will be an opportunity to learn about the peacebuilding practice of Pacific Peacebuilders committed to Preventive Action and Human Security as civil society leaders from Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea including Bougainville and Fiji gather:

“We are seeing how our collective work is contributing to enhancing a conflict prevention and human security approach within our region, as well as informing the development of the Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security,” says GPPAC Pacific network spokesperson Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, ”Network members are becoming well informed on: conflict and context analysis in the region and able to formulate concrete recommendations for other stakeholders based on these analysis; promoting the inclusion of peace education in official education curricula as well as the enhancement of informal education on peace; and the broader concept of security from a less military focus to human security as well as how to engage on security sector reform and potential risks for new and renewed violence”

The “Pasifika Peace Talanoa” is therefore an opportunity to hear first hand from peace practitioners who quite often are still struggling to overcome the information-communication divide.

“GPPAC Pacific network members work in a range of programme areas including addressing issues of marginalised young women in Tonga through the Talitha Project while  ,  Ma’afafine moe Famili continues to advocate for the ratification of CEDAW and prevention of violence against women. We also have network members such as Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency who are working hard to address the long term impact of armed conflict in Bougainville, while Peace Foundation Melanesia has also been contributing to enhancing the civil society perspective on GPPAC’s work on Counter-Terrorism. In the Solomon Islands collaboration between network members is also contributing towards ensuring peaceful elections in 2014. Collectively we are working to respond to the root causes of violence and conflict we have experienced in our countries and our region, to ensure there is an enhanced focus on Preventive Action. Civil society is clearly an essential part of promoting and ensuring human security.”

GPPAC Pacific is also working to develop programmes to support young people as Peacebuilders especially in the prevention of violent conflict, lobbying and policy advocacy work.

GPPAC is the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict and is the first global civil society network for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Key priorities include developing tools and capacities to enable civil society organisations to assess conflict situations and formulate action plans, and to mobilize action for conflict prevention in collaboration with relevant stakeholders including policy makers, inter-governmental organisations, media, community leaders and academics.

ENDS

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