Support Youth to build Peace in Nigeria

Dear Friends,
Greetings, peace and blessings to you. I hope this update finds you well. Thank you most sincerely. I am very pleased to report to you that from August 13-23, 2014, I was in New York, at the invitation of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), as Resource Person/co-facilitator at the 2014 UNAOC-EF Summer School. Participants were hosted at the Education First (EF) historic 25-acre American campus in Tarrytown, New York, which boasts on site residences, student lounges, a fitness center and swimming pool.

The UNAOC-EF Summer School is based on the conviction that youth are a driving force for positive social change. The week-long Summer School brought together Seventy (75) young intercultural leaders, selected from 73 countries, to address pressing global challenges, within the context of cultural and religious diversity. Lasting global change comes from collaboration across borders. By attracting youth from a multitude of backgrounds, the UNAOC – EF Summer School advances the search for shared solutions to the next level. The highly interactive program immersed participants in the essentials of global citizenship. Seminars, workshops, and roundtable discussions challenged participants and increased their impact as leaders in their fields.

I joined other Resource Persons from the UNAOC Intercultural Leaders Network, facilitated the daily Discussion Sessions and also led the “Building Alliances Session”. During this Session, facilitators, working as a team, gave participants an overview of their own experience of “Building Alliances” in their communities/countries. Resource Persons facilitated group-work exercises that gave participants the opportunity to:

1. Integrate the notions and practice the skills discussed; and
2. Reflect on how they can apply them or not to their own contexts
Presentations exposed best practices and lessons learned in the following areas:
1. Peacebuilding; negotiation; mediation; reconciliation and forgiveness; promoting social justice and opportunities for minorities, migrants, or other marginalized groups; and
2. Examples of building trust and mutual respect between different groups.

Among the major highlight of the Summer School included a guided tour of the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Participants toured the General Assembly Hall, the ECOSOC and explored a variety of exhibits detailing the history of the UN and learnt about how the UN addresses issues such as disarmament, peace and security. Participants also had the priviledge of an audience with the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Jan Kenneth Eliasson. Participants also had a picnic at the Central Park in New York and a Boat Ride to the Statue of Liberty.