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Africa Peace Studies Working Group

Africa Peace Studies Working Group

Africa Institute 1

In November 2017, CPN helped convene and sponsor the Africa Institute for Peace and Justice Studies Program Development in the Catholic Social Tradition in Entebbe, Uganda. The event was hosted by Uganda Martyrs University and other co-sponsors included the Association of Catholic Universities and Higher Institutes of Africa and Madagascar (ACUHIAM), the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa's Centre for Social Justice and Ethics, the University of Notre Dame's Kroc institute for International Peace Studies, Catholic Relief Services, the International Federation of Catholic Universities, the Institut für Theologie und Frieden, Misereor, Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. It included 64 people from 16 countries, including Europe, North America and nations across Africa, representing 18 institutions engaged in academic programming for peace and justice studies.

Please see our Event Page for the Institute for further background, the Institute program, and presentations

One of the concrete results of this meeting was the formation of the Africa Peace Studies Working Group, a steering committee of representatives from Catholic universities from different regions of Africa working in conjunction with CPN. The purpose of the Working Group is to facilitate networking, collaboration, and the sharing of resources and best practices among African universities that have or are planning to have justice and peacebuilding curriculum at their institutions. Some have established programs, some are starting out; some function as distinct institutes or units, some are attempting to integrate peace studies across curricular areas; some have particular areas of focus, some are more general. But all want to remain connected in their efforts to educate students, transform society, and build lasting peace in their communities. The 2017 Institute was intended to foster such connection, and the Working Group is intended to continue, strengthen, and actualize it.

This site is a home base for the Working Group's activities and initiatives.

Steering Committee

Elias Omondi Opongo, Hekima College (Kenya)
elias.opongo@hekima.ac.ke

Richard Kakeeto, Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Kenya)
rkakeeto@cuea.edu

Sr. Anna Fontana, Catholic University of Mozambique
anna.fontana@ucm.ac.mz

Paul-Robain Namegabe, Catholic University of Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo)
namegabepr@yahoo.fr

Gaston Ogui-Cossi, Catholic University of West Africa/Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
gasog2005@yahoo.fr

Meetings

The Working Group is trying to identify models for regional meetings that can help keep universities, scholars, students, Catholic NGOs, and Church personnel connected. Information will be made available as these plans take shape.

Working Group News

Toolkit from Catholic University of South Sudan

Cuofss Ijps Interpersonal Rela And Nonviolence A5 Small Book 1

The Institute for Justice and Peace Studies (IJPS) at the Catholic University of South Sudan has developed a toolkit for secondary schools, parishes and youth groups, which has its origin in a series of workshops that were held with the university’s student body. The toolkit aims to open up an extra-curricular forum for learners to hold deeply personal and contextually-grounded conversations about their continuously shifting everyday social realities. The toolkit, drawing from peace studies, theology, anthropology and critical pedagogy, engages learners with difference and diversity and explores both the globally-circulating meanings and dimensions of wellbeing, social justice and nonviolence, as well as how these are lived and experienced across subjectivities, time, and space.

Hipsir Ma Intake 2019

HIPSIR Accepting MA Applications

Hekima Institute for Peace Studies and International Relations announces it is now accepting applications for its Master of Arts in Peace Studies and International Relations. Intake is ongoing for starting in January 2019. The MA program is selective yet diverse, with students from multiple African and non-Africa countries, and it provides exposure to global challenges and opportunities. Daytime and evening courses are available. Application forms are available online, and interested candidates can email HIPSIR for more information.

Religious Extremism And Violence In Africa Conference

International Conference on Religious Extremism in Africa

On October 9-10, the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations in Nairobi, Kenya, will hold an international conference entitled "Religious Extremism and Violence in Africa: Reviewing the Practice of Intervention and Inter-religious Dialogue." The conference aims to assess the understanding of the nature of religious extremism and examine different views on the role it plays on conflict and violence, while also addressing the effectiveness of means to deal with it. The conference planners anticipate papers being selected for a future edited volume.

Hekima Religious Extremism Concept Note

Universidade Cato Lica De Moc Ambique

Catholic University of Mozambique publishes manual for educating young people to justice and peace

In cooperation with the International Center for Research and Decision Support, a service of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (CIRAD-IFCU), the Catholic University of Mozambique has published a campus ministry manual aimed at instilling values for justice and peace in young people. The publication is the result of a research project led by CIRAD-IFCU in collaboration with several Catholic universities in sub-Saharan Africa. The full manual is available online (in Portguese), and the CIRAD-IFCU website also features video of a launch event for the manual.