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Two observers from TCSF attended the “TICAD Conference on Consolidation
of Peace in Africa” that was held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,
on the 16th and 17th of
February. This conference, part of the preparatory meetings for TICAD IV that
will be held in 2008, provided opportunities to share experiences regarding the
consolidation of peace in Africa and Asia
In order to
convey messages from Japanese NGOs regarding the consolidation of peace in
Africa, TCSF prepared and distributed materials such as “A message from TCSF”,
“A message from Japanese civil societies”, “Basic research on consolidation of
peace in Africa” and so on.
For the purpose of sharing experiences among
different countries and organizations, it is important to hold these kinds of
meetings and to use them to create organic networks. In this regard, the
framework of such a network, or support by TICAD for the existing framework,
should have been made clearer. This conference did not provide an opportunity to
discuss and show what is possible within the existing TICAD
framework.
From the reports and discussions provided during the
conference, there seems to be a common understanding about the importance of
civil societies at the project level. Furthermore, almost all presenters and
speakers mentioned the importance of women and youths. However, hardly any of
them discussed specific methodology; and it is therefore very important to
monitor how these theories are actually implemented. There was no comment
regarding civil participation during the planning stage, nor was there feedback
on policies based on civil societies’ experiences and opinions.
Most critical to this kind of
international conference is the process used before the conference actually
takes place. These conferences must be the culmination of relationships between
hosts, governments, international organizations, and civil societies (NGOs and
NPOs) that had been built for a common purpose (i.e., the conference). Although
the conference was “big”, we could not envision this important process by
looking at the participants.
After participating in this conference, we confirmed, once again, the urgency
and importance of “official participation in the TICAD process and in TICAD
by civil society”, of conveying that “the African side (AU and NEPAD) must
be included as TICAD hosts”, and of showing what “civil participation”
means within the TICAD process. (Ishiad / Shiratori)
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