ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 13, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
Representatives of the media in Addis Ababa are invited to cover the opening ceremony of the third Retreat of the Pan-African Network of the Wise.
What:
The African Union (AU) is convening the Third Retreat of the Pan-African Network of the Wise (PanWise) under the theme “Silencing The Guns By 2020: The Pan-African Network of the Wise and the Promotion of Cultures of Peace In Africa”.
The retreat will focus on building synergies between mediation and peacebuilding actors at local, national and regional levels.
When:
9:00 am GMT, 16 to 17 November 2015;
Where:
African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
Who:
It will bring together under the same umbrella national and sub-national actors such as mediators and institutions engaged in mediation activities at local/community level (such as national ombudsmen, local councils of elders, pastoralist mediators), and the United Nations, Governments, AU mediation partners, experts and high level personalities with a mediation profile, as well as the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
Why:
This Retreat is organized in furtherance of the decision of the Assembly of the Union, of 26 May 2013, to establish and operationalise the PanWise, which is an “Africa-wide network” created to promote a more concerted and inclusive approach to preventive diplomacy, mediation and peaceful resolution of disputes in the context of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). As defined, PanWise, therefore, counts as its core members a distinguished group of personalities with a solid track record in promoting peaceful resolution of disputes, drawn from the AU Panel of the Wise and Friends of the Panel of the Wise, the Council of Elders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Panel of Elders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Committee of Elders of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), as well as the East African Community (EAC).
This Retreat accordingly aims to:
Examine current challenges and emerging threats to peace in Africa, including reflecting on the opportunities for the promotion of a culture of peace in line with the Charter for the African Renaissance and the African Union’s Agenda 2063;
Build a shared understanding of the synergistic potential of peacebuilding and mediation actors at different levels (local, regional and continental) and reflect on the capacities, needs and contributions of actors at these levels. These include ombudsmen, but also, where relevant, elders, religious leaders, traditional authorities, insider mediators, local capacities for peace, community based organizations, civil society organizations, the youth, the education (academics and researchers) and artistic community, the media, the private sector;
Reflect on practical strategies to maximize the role and potential of education, indigenous knowledge and culture, artistic creation, performance arts and communication as key activities towards a sustainable culture of peace;
Discuss the wide variety of customary and contemporary mediative approaches and the implications that differences in approach have for effective mediation practices;
Discuss in concrete terms the involvement of national actors in the PanWise, including a Process of Accreditation, Code of Conduct, Reporting Obligations and standardizing Capacities applicable to these national and local actors and the role of PanWise in supporting, nurturing and developing National Infrastructures for Peace;
