The African Union (AU) has completed a five-day training on Leveraging Arts for Peace’ with a call on artistes across Africa to utilise their talents in championing peace amidst escalating conflicts on the continent.
Development Diaries reports that the AU High Representative for Silencing Guns in Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, made the call during a five-day virtual training for artistes under the theme: ‘Leveraging Arts for Peace’.
The training, which was conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), ended on 22 September, 2023.
It brought together 25 African artistes from all the regions of Africa, to not only raise their consciousness about promoting peaceful co-existence in communities but also to sensitise them against the use of art to incite violence, promote hate speech, hate crimes, or other forms of conflict.
Chambas underscored the importance of artistes gaining a deeper understanding of the efforts aimed at fostering a cohesive society through conflict prevention, resolution, and reconciliation.
‘As artistes, you have the power to not only bring people together but also inspire a sense of community’, he said.
The training encompassed discussions on the role of artistes in advancing peace advocacy through various arts, principles for effective advocacy and outreach, the AU’s efforts in promoting peace and security, and existing approaches and frameworks for silencing guns in Africa, among other topics.
Furthermore, the training guided participants with the knowledge and skills to advance peace and security through artistic expression.
It also focused on heightening awareness and promoting ownership of the AU’s Silencing the Guns initiative to campaign towards supporting country-level interventions to achieve a conflict-free Africa and create favourable conditions for the continent’s socio-economic transformation.
The participants, it was gathered, exchanged views and brainstormed on creative ideas that would heighten public awareness of Silencing the Guns and the negative impact of the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons on the continent.
Photo source: Culturalinf
