Peace-building training for East Darfur youths

The Community Studies Centre will hold a training course on conflict resolution and peace-building for 145 East Darfuri youths in Khartoum.

Amira El Fadil, Director of the Centre, told reporters in Khartoum on Sunday that the training course emanated from a study conducted by the Centre in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

She explained that the project came into being through the cooperation of more than 17 government institutions and civil society organisations, under the auspices of first vice-president.

“This project is an effort by civil society organisations to complement the government efforts,” the director stated.

“It began with panel discussions and evolved into this project based on a number of training courses for community leaders and activists, including a peace-building course for 67 hakamas, and one for 120 native administration leaders and other Darfuri notables.

“This time we will concentrate on the youth,” she added.

Hakamas are a traditional part of life throughout the Darfur region in western Sudan. They used to comprise women singers who would accompany male combatants to the front lines, intoning their rally cries to the glory of battle. Many hakamas however prefer singing for peace instead rallying men to war.