Lobbying for Peace Education for Youth: SCP Sets Sights on the East Region of Cameroon.

Lobbying for Peace Education for Youth: SCP Sets Sights on the East Region of Cameroon.

The regional awareness-raising and lobbying campaign for peace education for youth was held in Bertoua on September 23 and 24, 2025, following those in the Littoral, Centre, and Far North regions. Under the theme: “Let’s act now for a peaceful community,” this event brought together more than one hundred young people from the four departments of the East Region. Lobbying for Peace Education for Youth: SCP Sets Sights on the Eastern Region of Cameroon.

The regional awareness-raising and lobbying campaign for peace education for youth was held in Bertoua on September 23 and 24, 2025, following those in the Nord West, Far North and South West regions. Under the theme: “Let’s act now for a peaceful community,” this event brought together more than one hundred young people from the four departments of the Eastern Region.

Over two days, the campaign mobilized, raised awareness, and engaged young people in a collective reflection on the causes, manifestations, and sustainable solutions to youth violence. It led to a strengthening of dialogue between young people, administrative and municipal authorities, community and religious leaders, civil society actors, and development partners, around a common goal: to make peace education a sustainable lever for social cohesion and positive transformation in the East Region and Cameroon.

The adopted working methodology, based on group work, resulted in groups of young people from formal and non-formal educational settings, as well as informal settings (markets, bus stations, crafts, agriculture, etc.). These young participants, from the region’s four departments, expressed a strong determination to become committed actors for peace. They solemnly committed to:

• promote tolerance, mutual respect, and non-violent communication in their living environments;
• actively contribute to conflict prevention through awareness-raising, mediation, and peer support;
• initiate and support community initiatives for social cohesion and local development;
• denounce injustice and violence in all its forms, including gender-based violence;
• value cultural diversity as a source of wealth and unity;
• participate in the formalization of peace clubs and committees within schools and communities.

State, administrative, and community authorities, for their part, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting young people in the implementation of these initiatives through:

• strengthening public policies on peace education, violence prevention, and the promotion of harmonious living;
• establishing regular consultation frameworks between young people, public authorities, and partners; – promoting youth employment, vocational training, and entrepreneurship;
• mobilizing religious and traditional leaders as community representatives to spread a culture of peace; etc.

To sustain this momentum and amplify its impact, the participants generally formulated the following proposals:

• • Develop an integrated regional peace education strategy aligned with the National Youth and Social Cohesion Policy;
  • Establish a fund to support youth peace and social innovation initiatives;
  • Develop structuring partnerships between state institutions, local authorities, civil society organizations, and technical and financial partners.

In short, this initiative, which is part of the activities of the Cameroon Civil Peace Service (SCP), supported by Bread for the World, with the aim of strengthening the culture of peace, social cohesion, and the resilience of local communities, marks a decisive turning point in the promotion of peace education in the Eastern Region. The young ambassadors of the Eastern Region emerge from this exercise strengthened, empowered and carrying a clear vision: that of a Cameroon where peace, justice and solidarity constitute the foundations of a shared future.