Entebbe-Uganda: 5 days for the Second Regional Peace Summer School for young people in the Great Lakes Region.

The second Regional Peace Summer School held in Entebbe, Uganda, from 19 to 23 September 2022 brought together more than 100 young people, leaders of organizations working for peace and dialogue in the Great Lakes Region, as well as stakeholders from the political, academic, humanitarian and media spheres from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania. Presentations, debates, reflection, and networking sessions have resulted in numerous resolutions and draft actions. The International Day of Peace 2022 was celebrated through a peaceful march on the day of 21 September on the sidelines of the peace school.

The debates and presentations by the various stakeholders touched on several key areas and issues in the promotion of peace and dialogue in the Great Lakes Region ranging from peace and security in general, the resurgence of armed conflicts, the youth economy or employment, the role of the media in the peacebuilding process, the link between environmental protection, peace and security, the protection of refugees, asylum seekers and forced migrants... The objective is to further equip young peace actors but also to encourage them to play their full role by giving priority to networking and the peaceful and democratic ways and methods promoted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The day of September 21, World Day of Peace was celebrated in a unique way by the young people through a peaceful march, in the streets of the city of Entebbe, under the supervision of the Ugandan National Police and the accompaniment of the Mayor of the city of Entebbe who launched the demonstration in person. During this march, the young people launched messagesof peace, social cohesion, call for peaceful cohabitation between the populations of the region, sincere cooperation, and cessation of conflicts. The media in the square were able to cover this public activity and help convey the messages of the young demonstrators. It was a very excellent opportunity to commune with the people of Entebbe on this symbolic day.

For 4 days, the various initiatives of the young people made pitches of the projects in front of a jury of five members, the stakeholders present as well as their young peers. Ideas of projects in consortium between initiatives of the same country and between initiatives of different countries in quite different fields were included in the list of project ideas presented. These project ideas touched on key areas of intervention of the project including youth entrepreneurship, the fight against gender-based-violence, the promotion of peace, dialogue, and the fight against the spread of fake news in the media. On average, sixteen project ideas have been selected by the Jury and will be eligible for sub-grants. Mentors will be recruited to accompany the young people in the execution of their projects for a period of one year.

To conclude the work of the Regional Peace Summer School, the young people read and adopted a joint communiqué, on their own initiative, calling for more involvement of young people in the security peace process in the East African region. This joint communiqué addressed to the various stakeholders and actors in the peacebuilding process in the Great Lakes Region in general, will be promoted and relayed massively, as a prelude to the next regional meeting with stakeholders early next year.

It is also important to highlight the holding of entertainment activities and networking during these 5 days. These consisted of sports and aerobic dance sessions, visits to Entebbe Zoo, volleyball and football games and a visit to the capital Kampala. This regional school of peace was attended by the Mayor of the city of Entebbe, HW Fabrice Rulinda, the Country Director of The Konrad Adenauer Foundation Uganda and South Sudan, Mrs. Anna Reismann and the Project Director and Country Director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung DRC Foundation, Mr. Jakob Kerstan. The organization on sit was ensured by our two partners in Uganda: Leo Africa Institute and Cornerstone Development Africa.