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Programmes Home > Guinea Home

May 2010
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow visits with SFCG Staff in Conakry
June 27th is set to be a historic day in
Guinea. If all goes as planned it will
mark the first fully democratic elections
in Guinea since its independence in
1958. Led by two authoritarian
regimes, Guinea has escaped the
violence that has plagued many of its
neighbors, but it has been marred by
political repression, growing ethnic divisions, economic deterioration and political
corruption. President Lansana Conté’s death in 2008 prompted a military coup,
by a group calling itself the National Council for Development and Democracy
(CNDD). President Conté had also seized power through a coup 24 years
earlier.
Guinea’s context has drastically changed over the past six months. In late 2009,
serious concerns were growing about the democratic future of the country and
junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara’s potential for a renewed
dictatorship. An assassination attempt on Dadis Camara in December changed
the entire situation, however, with Camara flown out of the country to recover
and Brigadier General Sékouba Konaté has taken over as acting president.
Since assuming power, Konaté has made significant steps to restoring confidence
in the government. He appointed a Prime Minister who represented the
opposition, and he has fully supported the immediate organization of elections.
While the rapid pace of the preparations has introduced a number of challenges,
overall it marks a highly positive development for the country. With only a month
until elections, all eyes are on the country to see how the first open process in
more than 52 years plays out.
On paper, Guinea is a rich nation. Its soil contains gold, diamonds, vast reserves of iron ore, and at least a third of the
world’s bauxite reserves. The land itself has great potential for agricultural and fishery growth. Yet much of this potential
has gone untapped due to poor infrastructure and decades of corruption. The transition may be a chance at a new
beginning.
For Search for Common Ground, the transition period is also a chance to engage and educate youth about politics and
governance, and the opportunities for their constructive participation within them. Much of SFCG’s recent work in-country
has focused on these issues. While there will be many challenges for the new government, SFCG believes it will be easier
to work with its members to promote principles like non-violence, tolerance, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence,
which will help engage the country in development and rebuilding.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Launches Joint UNICEF-SFCG Project
On May 9, 2010, SFCG and UNICEF launched their new partnership around a youth and non-violence project. Building on
a foundation established by SFCG over the past two years of working with youth on non-violent participation, this
partnership will expand non-violence and advocacy trainings to
the Forest Region and Conakry. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Mia Farrow traveled to Guinea for the launch of the project,
which encourages young people to be peaceful actors of
change, especially during the upcoming elections. Guinea is a
young country, with people aged 15-34 making up 30% of the
population. Young men especially are prone to participate in
rioting and political violence and are also its primary victims.
Youth workshops are the first step of the project. The workshops
seek to instill and reinforce the value and importance of civic
responsibility. They also aim to improve knowledge of their
rights as citizens, conflict resolution techniques and behavior
change communication. During her visit, Mia Farrow spoke with
some of the at-risk youth targeted by the project. Over the course of
the two years, SFCG expects to reach approximately 23,000
young people in the two areas.
The Forest Region and Conakry are two areas that are highly
vulnerable to and at risk for violence in the transition period.
Dadis Camara is originally from the Forest Region and many
there believe he should return and run for president. For them,
his ascent to power was synonymous with their own. There
have already been some violent community conflicts in
Nzérékoré, the largest city in the region. As the capital, Conakry
is where all political parties are concentrated and most of them are drawn along ethnic lines. If the elections bring
bloodshed to the capital, it can easily spread to the rest of the country. SFCG’s work aims to prevent that.
"Through our program, young people learn about
their rights, non violent ways of dealing with adversarial
situations, and about democratic change. Better
informed, they are able to resist political manipulation
and will become non violent drivers of positive change
during and beyond the transition in Guinea."
– Country Director, Quentin Kanyatsi
SFCG Youth and Non-Violence Project Engages Communities
SFCG just wrapped up an 18-month Youth and Non-Violence in Guinea project funded by USAID’s Office of Conflict
Management and Mitigation that worked with 36 youth organization in Kindia, Mamou, and Kankan. These cities saw high
levels of youth violence during the 2007 strikes, and the project was created in response in order to provide youth
alternative channels to express their grievances. The project trained 72 young people in the three locations, but affected
even more through its outreach. It combined a series of activities including training of youth leaders, youth training
replication sessions within communities, youth peace festivals in each city, community youth sensitization programs, a youth radio program called Barada (‘teapot’), and a popular youth interactive radio program on non violence produced by
Radio Rurale.
An evaluation conducted in April 2010 found that youth in the three cities are now engaged in promoting peaceful
elections in their own communities. One group of participants in Mamou wanted to further engage with the topic of
political manipulation. They wrote and filmed a short video concerning the June 27 elections and potential risk for
manipulation. Other participants in Mamou organized a sensitization event at a local university where students were
planning a strike against university authorities. Violence is often the norm during such strikes and demonstrations but as a
result of the event, the students organized a march that resulted in a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The organizer of
the event even received a thank you letter from the school, acknowledging their influence in the demonstration’s outcome.
A principal in Kindia wrote to say that following a sensitization conference organized by participants; his students had
unanimously decided to set up a committee for peaceful conflict resolution.
Additionally, the project has contributed to an increase in listenership for the rural radio stations, especially among youth.
All those interviewed—youth participants, local authorities and civil society leaders—reported that violence has shown a
marked decrease and that no major incidences of violence have occurred in any of the targeted cities since the 2007
strikes. Furthermore, all acknowledged that young people have begun to play more positive and active roles in their
communities.
SFCG Intern uses Common Ground Practices in Conakry Conference
Former SFCG intern Joschka Philipps, with help from Alhoussein
Kaba, organized a conference on the theme “Youth and Politics in
Conakry”. This conference aimed at openly confronting and
discussing problems that affect Guinean youth; such as gender
inequality, stigmatization, and political manipulation and
intimidation. Joschka’s interest in Guinean politics was sparked by
his internship with SFCG, where he spent three months in Guinea
supporting project activities. The conference took place at the
University Kofi Annan, the country’s largest private university, and
was very well attended. Country Director Quentin Kanyatsi sat on
the panel and spoke about the crucial importance of youth
engagement in politics and development, free of manipulation.
Guinea’s youth are numerous, he said, but largely unheard.
Joschka was surprised to hear how passionately politics were
being discussed and found that the number of voices painted a
very complex picture. “There is no scapegoat and no saint,” he
said, explaining that it is important to see the perspectives of all
actors. “There is progress and stagnation. SFCG's ‘Understanding Differences, Acting on Commonalities’ definitely has its place
and meaning in Guinea.”
Radio Transmits Messages of Non-Violence
Radio is an effective way to reach many communities and spread messages of peace and tolerance during the upcoming
elections. SFCG is heavily involved with the creation and broadcast of radio programs in the country, providing
information, facilitating dialogue, and introducing new models and ideas of collaboration and conflict transformation. In
addition to producing programs, SFCG has also been supporting the expansion of the media landscape, working with
communities to establish local radio stations that respond to their information needs. In April 2009, The Minister of
Communication formally recognized these contributions, traveling to three communities to officially launch three rural radio
stations that SFCG installed in the Fouta Djallon region. These stations will provide information access for village dwellers
and improve lines of communication to the rest of the country.
SFCG and Elections
With the elections rapidly approaching, SFCG is devoting its radio programming efforts to supporting civic and voter
education that prepares Guinean citizens to fully participate in this important process. SFCG has been gradually growing its
regular production, and now produces 28 radio programs monthly as well as regular spot messages that reinforce the same
themes. These are in French and five local languages (including Peuhl, Guerze, Malinké, Thoma and Soussou), promoting
the importance of voting and civic engagement, political tolerance and respect, and other democratic principles.
SFCG has built partnerships with 26 rural and independent radio stations for the broadcast of its radio programs. As the
elections get underway, SFCG will work with these stations to conduct an election monitoring and reporting effort that
ensures that there is a credible flow of information at the regional and national level to prevent fraud and reinforce the
legitimacy of the elections and their results. SFCG has undertaken similar efforts in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Liberia and Sierra Leone, and will build on these successful examples.
With support from UNDP, SFCG has helped produce a code of conduct for the promotion of peace for all public
and private media in Guinea. The initiative was created through a workshop attended by both the Minister of
Communication and the Minister of the Interior. The
code of conduct was recently signed by 33 media
representatives in the presence of the Ministry of
Communication and the Ministry of the Interior. By
signing, media practitioners agreed to adopt mutual
standards of journalistic professionalism and
impartiality. Such standards discourage inflammatory
messages and partisan reporting in the time leading
to, during, and after elections.
Final Thoughts
“For a decade, governance, in Guinea, has been an issue in all political, public, and private sectors in
the country. There hasn't been respect for good governance principles. With the change coming soon in the
country, many Guineans hope that the new democratic system, once in place, will improve governance and
hence people's conditions of life” says Country Director Quentin Kanyatsi. “All our programs and of those of
other organizations are calling for a new culture of governance to be instituted with new leaders who be
steering the country after the elections. This is the first time, after several years, that Guineans will really have
democratic elections if they are held in a credible and transparent way. That why all national and
international institutions and organizations are engaged to support the current election process.”
Search for Common Ground in Guinea
Kipe-Ratoma
T2 N. 2869
Guinea
ph: 30 47 84 69
email: sfcgguinea@sfcg.org
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