The International Youth Violence Prevention Conference is to be held in Dar es Salaam from 6th – 8th November, 2012 at the White Sands Hotel. It is being facilitated by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa with the support from other organizations.
The conference comes at a time when young people are being seen as being at crossroads; “there is a growing emphasis on youth as both victims and perpetrators of violence”. It also comes at a time when when violence “has become an accepted component of young people’s social interactions”.
Although the website says registration ended on October 19, it may be worth following up with the conference through the media and getting in touch with the organizers. A substantial list of objectives are to be met; some objectives could do with Tanzania’s input in particular and Eastern Africa’s experience in general.
A few questions on my mind in the lead-up to this conference are:
- What prevailing (political, economic and social) conditions drive young people to violent acts?
- Even with preventive measures in schools, do these prevailing conditions have to do with people other than the “youth” age groups?
- If peace is so dependent on young people, why don’t they have bigger roles to play in society other than being students?
OSIEA is part of the global Open Society Foundations. It works to help civil society advance public accountability, challenge corruption, strengthen free media, and end stigma and abuse directed at marginalized groups in Eastern Africa. OSIEA has programs in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, S. Sudan and Tanzania. For more information on OSIEA and this upcoming conference, get in touch with Deus: drweyemamu[at]osiea[dot]org.
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