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Members of People’s Forum for Peace are seen during a meeting and peer mediation programme at Peren Town Baptist Church on August 27.[/caption]
Dimapur, Aug. 28 (EMN): With an aim to build people and its communities, Peace Channel has motivated peace builders to create a culture of peace from culture of violence. This was reiterated during a meeting of People’s Forum for Peace (PFP) and peer mediation programme with the participation of 30 members at Peren Town Baptist Church on August 27.
People’s Forum for Peace (PFP) was initiated by Peace Channel with an effort to have inclusive approach towards peace building and collective platform for members from various communities, religion and professions who are committed for peace, justice and sustainable development for the welfare and well-being of the people in Peren district.
Haiku Nza, pastor of Peren Town Baptist Church, chaired the programme and explained the objective and purpose of the forum. He encouraged the participants to see beyond self and come together to build one another through peaceful means. He also urged the members to keep the foundation strong with trust and hope for positive change starting with oneself.
Resource persons Vitono Haralu called upon the participants to ponder on the conflicts one has experienced and how it has been resolved or if there is a need to resolve.
“Conflict can be of many kinds and solving them will need different ways to settle the dispute. The need to be prepared and ready to intervene any conflict situation between two people, family members, community requires new learning to build a supportive environment to resolve issues,” stated the resource person.
She stated that peace cannot be spoken or practiced if one has not resolved issues in one’s own personal life and forgive those who have hurt them. She stated that reconciliation requires a journey of self reflection and healing, which can be achieved with truth and honest conversation.
She also highlighted on the need to understand various ways to communicate better and address grievances in an inclusive platform such as PFP as an avenue to express face to face dialogue amongst people and facilitate between parties in conflicting issues.
The forum received experience sharing from the participants which was expressed freely. They have felt the need for an avenue like PFP to come together, enabling the citizens to share ones thought and a sense of belonging with equal representation. Participants agreed to train themselves with more knowledge and skills to excel together.
Peace Channel, through its initiative, is reaching out to four districts of Dimapur, Kohima, Wokha and Peren.