A series of advanced trainings for the 100 youth initiatives and national multi stakeholder conferences in Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

In pursuit of the objective of strengthening the capacities of youth organizations, a series of advanced trainings was held for the 100 representatives of youth initiatives between August and September 2022 in Kampala, Uganda, Goma in DR Congo, in Gisenyi in Rwanda and Mwanza in Tanzania on several themes identified by the young people themselves after a period of consultation on the needs of their organizations and communities. These advanced trainings were held in line with multi stakeholder conferences in the same cities, period and countries.

Let us recall that this project, which aims to create a sub-regional network of young people committed to peace and dialogue, places particular emphasis on strengthening the capacities of these actors on several subjects. This is with the aim of improving the way young people work so that they hope for more sustainable results. A series of trainings have been organized in the 4 countries since the launch of the project to do this and it is almost ending. For greater impact and to reach many young people in the region, the directly trained young people will in turn organize mini trainings with the support of the project within their communities.

This series of advanced training courses is part of the final phase of activities of capacity building nature. The latter was a little more particular because the beneficiaries identified the training themes themselves according to their needs to complete the entire curriculum. The training revolved around these five advanced modules: critical thinking, non-violent communication, advocacy, conflict management and organizational development.

In the four countries, an average of sixteen young finalists of the training of trainers will each organize four training sessions in their local communities thanks to small grants they will receive and support from expert trainers. Only by sharing and transmitting knowledge and skills can the network expand and impact the way we expect. In turn, it is another way to empower young people and put them in front of the challenges faced by members of their communities.

Four national multi stakeholder conferences in Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania

Beyond capacity building of youth initiatives as well as networking, the project has a third component which is advocacy. It is in this sense that several activities, following a logic, are held with a view to bringing together young people and decision-makers and all other stakeholders at the national level first and later at the regional level. Four (4) national stakeholder conferences were held between August and September 2022 in Kampala, Uganda, Goma, DR Congo, Gisenyi, Rwanda and Mwanza, Tanzania. Opportunities for young people to meet and discuss with delegates from different sectors about common problems and solutions.

We would like, through these activities, to offer frameworks for exchanges and discussions between young people and other stakeholders for more common and concerted actions. Several key actors of society took part in these activities including parliamentarians and members of governments, law enforcement and armed forces officers, university professors and heads of academic institutions, media men, entrepreneurs and businesspeople and other actors of civil society. Fruitful exchanges around opportunities for collaboration and direct advocacy sessions took place and contacts could be exchanged.

In the third year of the project, further national and regional conferences with stakeholders are planned to ensure the sustainability of this framework. It is also important to bring together stakeholders at the regional level as many of the challenges are shared and joint actions at the regional level can lead to overcoming them. The history of the Great Lakes region is clear on the importance of joint action to find solutions to common problems.