Peacebuilding in Africa: transitions, complexities and responses

This dialogue is the culmination of an annual Wilton Park series on peacebuilding in Africa that started in 2015. It has been held in partnership with the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council, New York and the African Leadership Centre, Nairobi, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ahead of the event, Wilton Park and partners worked with the University of Nairobi to organise a public Town Hall discussion on “Youth, protest, and peacebuilding: conversation and negotiation with the state in Africa”. Speaker remarks and subsequent questions explored many elements of the complex relationship between youth and the state in Africa, including issues around inclusion, justice, accountability and fairness. A video recording of the Town Hall event can be viewed below:

Previous events explored:

The concept of next generation African peacebuilding
The changing landscape of conflict and new African thinking on peacebuilding
How to sustain civil society engagement in peacebuilding
How to build more effective interaction between African and global peacebuilding.
Case studies exploring the dynamics of peacebuilding in specific contexts

This sixth and final dialogue took stock of evolutions in peacebuilding in Africa since the first five events, exploring continuities and changes.

The event also critically examined emerging issues in the current peace and security landscape that will affect African peacebuilding in the future, and how to respond to them. The centrality of youth and the variety of ways in which youth agency is manifesting in Africa received particular emphasis.

The meeting had the following specific objectives:

To assess the key conclusions and outcomes from previous conferences that have relevance for peacebuilding in Africa today
To take stock and assess the implications of progress and changes in the field, as well as the impact of responses through the lens of strategic and authoritative voices on peacebuilding in Africa
To consider the implications of current and emerging developments for the future of peacebuilding in Africa and the role of youth and inter-generational engagement with peacebuilding.