conflict prevention

As the youth population continues to grow in countries throughout the developing world, I have been thinking about what role this burgeoning group will play in conflict and post-conflict environments. It is an oft-cited truism that peace must begin with the youth because they are more open-minded than the older generation, have tremendous energy and enthusiasm, and represent the future of their countries. Yet their very open-mindedness makes them susceptible to hatred and violence, as events like the clashes following the 2008 elections in Kenya illustrated all too vividly.

I have spent the past week in Kigali, working with Eugene Gatari and the rest of our local staff to launch the USAID/IREX Youth for Change: Building Peace in Rwandan Communities Program (Y4C).

How can we manage tension between citizens returning to post conflict countries and those who remain in the country during conflict?

This was the topic of discussion when seven female development practitioners met on October 15 in Monrovia. The purpose of the meeting was to set up a task force to respond to emergency calls from victims of sexual and gender based violence. But it was dominated by conversation about how Liberians returning home in this post conflict era relate to Liberians who stayed during the civil war.

The past few weeks have seen an upsurge of events at IREX examining conflict from the perspective of youth engagement, conflict prevention, and women's involvement.

I’m in Indonesia this week, and through conversations with representatives of NGOs, multilateral institutions, and random taxi drivers, I have been thinking a lot about the line between conflict and incidences of violence. More than a decade after the democratic transition in Indonesia, large-scale conflict has largely subsided.

I’m writing this week from Rwanda, where I’m working on our Civil Society Strengthening Project. Although the project is not specifically focused on conflict, working with our staff and meeting with many Rwandans has given me the opportunity to think about the different ways we describe conflict programming – and how all of them are insufficient.