Reflecting 2025 – Strengthening Peace Partnerships for 2026

CPS Liberia Network Coordinator Decontee George sums up 2025 and Priorities for CPS Partners in 2026.

I would like to sincerely thank you for your continued commitment to nonviolent conflict transformation, social cohesion, and sustainable peace. In a time of complex crises and rapid change, your dedication and solidarity remain the Network’s greatest strength.

Over the past six months, the Network has focused on learning, documentation, and collaboration. Through a week-long field documentation exercise in Grand Bassa, Bong, Kakata, and Monrovia, our Community of Practice, supported by the German Support Team, captured symbols, values, and spaces that connect Liberians. This included national events such as the Annual County Meet, which brings people together across ethnic lines through sports and cultural exchange, as well as reflections on the historic role of women who mobilized, prayed, and advocated for the signing of the Accra Peace Accord in 2003, an enduring example of collective action for peace, under the Do No Harm Framework.

Partner visits strengthened coordination and shared learning across the Network. A strong example of collaboration is the partnership between LCL and LOIC, where returning migrants and former drug users, after receiving somatic therapy, yoga training, and counseling through LCL, were supported to acquire vocational skills at LOIC. This collaboration reflects the value of our partner-centered approach and the impact of working together.

During this period, the Coordinator participated in the CPS Coordinators’ Conference in Berlin, an annual gathering of BROT Coordinators from Africa and across the globe. The conference provided space for shared learning, bilateral exchange, and updates on CPS frameworks and approaches. As part of this engagement, coordinators also visited the German Parliament, where they engaged policymakers on the relevance of civilian peacebuilding and shared success stories from different contexts, including Liberia.

We also welcomed BROT staff and BMZ representatives to the MRU, who visited partners in Sierra Leone and facilitated a cross-border exchange on dealing with the past. This brought together peace practitioners from Liberia and Sierra Leone to strengthen approaches to healing, reconciliation, and peacebuilding. CPS Liberia was represented by BROT and AGIAMONDO partners. In addition, the MRU BROT team visited Liberia, engaging partners, and together with the Coordinator, paid a courtesy visit to the German Embassy to discuss the work of CPS in Liberia and explore opportunities for a strengthened partnership.

Another key milestone was the coordination of the 16 Days of Activism, which brought together more than 100 participants from civil society, government, the German Embassy, CPS partners, and students. Young people led awareness-raising activities under the global theme Unite to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls, calling for safer online and offline spaces. This period has also been one of reflection.

Through our trimester meetings and peer learning, we assessed impact, shared lessons, and adapted to emerging challenges, particularly in the context of a shrinking donor space, which highlights the importance of long-term, preventive peacebuilding.

Looking ahead to 2026, our priorities include documenting CPS impact in Liberia, strengthening policy dialogue and sustainability, integrating inclusive and conflict-sensitive approaches, and supporting partners to jointly design and implement new programs. Throughout, we remain grounded in our core values of nonviolence, participation, and human rights.