May 9, 2023 – WPDI is delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to foster conditions for community resilience and cohesion, peacebuilding and sustainable livelihoods in the Equatoria region of South Sudan until 2025. Our collaboration, which started in 2019 and was extended last year to strengthen our outreach to youth groups in marginalized communities, aims to build and support a workforce of peacemakers, provide training sessions in conflict resolution, support community dialogues and promote entrepreneurship and resilient livelihoods, notably by supporting women- and youth-led business projects.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest state, is a country fraught with instability and a lack of infrastructure creating an environment conducive to violence and conflict. Compounding the aftereffects of a terrible civil war that took place over ten years ago, eruptions of violence amongst disgruntled youths are commonplace, as are intercommunal disputes regarding farming land and access to raw materials. This lasting state of fragility and chronic conflict has deeply impacted the social fabric of the country, jeopardizing efforts at long-term peace and sustainable development.
This context creates dire challenges for the youths of South Sudan. Resorting to violence is, for instance, perceived as normal by many young males, who suffer from high levels of unemployment and often have few options other than joining armed groups, thereby fuelling conditions for conflict. Young women, for their part, also face immense challenges, which is expressive of the wider situation for women in South Sudan. Gender equality is a complicated issue in the country, where traditional roles for women confine them to domestic roles from an early age, preventing them from fully participating in the economic and political life of the community.
WPDI and SDC’s main aim in this context is therefore to foster resilience and cohesion of communities of the Equatoria region by harnessing the potential of women and young people for peacebuilding and sustainable livelihoods. To this effect, we have developed a crosscutting programme, the Youth Peacemaker Network, which draws on capacity-building, vocational training, and support to youth-led educational and income-generating projects, including in agriculture, as well as a wide array of community-strengthening activities.
WPDI’s action being founded on the core belief that the South Sudanese youth is committed to building a brighter future for their country, our renewed partnership with SDC will aim to strengthen youth engagement within local communities, providing them access to skills and opportunities to make a difference. In this respect, the partnership will improve the capacity of WDPI to bring about peace and drive social and economic development in our target areas.
As of today, 5,891 South Sudanese youths have been trained under this flagship program, including 3,026 youths in Eastern Equatoria State, 1,566 in Western Equatoria State, and 1,299 in Central Equatoria State. Moreover, 356 youth leaders and local youths have been trained to become Youth Peacemakers.
The project is expected to reach over 56,000 beneficiaries over the three-year period.
About The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative
WPDI is a non-governmental organization with an international scope and reach, founded in 2012 by artist and social activist and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace, Forest Whitaker with the aim of promoting peace, gender equality, sustainability and resilience in countries and places affected by violence, poverty and marginalization. In the geographical areas where we work in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the United States, WPDI has developed an array of programs aimed at training and supporting underprivileged individuals and groups, youths and women in priority, so they can be empowered as mediators, educators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Through so doing, WPDI seeks to bring good men and women together and mobilize them to drive positive transformation in their communities and beyond.
About The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). In operating with other federal offices concerned, SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of development activities and cooperation with Eastern Europe, as well as for the humanitarian aid delivered by the Swiss Confederation.
The goal of development cooperation is that of reducing poverty. It is meant to foster economic self-reliance and state autonomy, to contribute to the improvement of production conditions, to help in finding solutions to environmental problems, and to provide better access to education and basic healthcare services.
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/fdfa/organisation-fdfa/directorates-divisions/sdc.html