Border Resilience Initiative: Timbuktu Institute and Konrad Adenauer Foundation explore role of young people and women in border resilience

As part of the implementation of its Strategic Plan 2020-2025, and in particular Axis 3 on “Promoting a culture of peace through an educational approach and the enhancement of endogenous resources, cultural heritage, and the strengthening of resilience”, the Timbuktu Institute-African Center for Peace Studies is continuing the “Resilience at the borders” initiative launched with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation a few years ago.

The predominantly security-based approach and vulnerabilities in border areas are very often highlighted to the detriment of interactions, which are captured rarely by traditional indicators, research and field studies.

The “Living on the border: challenges or opportunities” project, initiated by the Timbuktu Institute with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, has made possible, through exchanges with young people, to discover, according to Bakary Sambe, that “some areas that benefit from very few development initiatives are brimming with potential, especially in terms of building and resilience strengthening to conflict and violent extremism”.

The discussions and recommendations highlighted a strong demand for capacity-building and the promotion of youth and female leadership in order to an impetus to a commitment to social cohesion and conflict prevention, in all, especially in these very strategic areas of certain countries in terms of security and stability. All the more so, these areas are often covered by extremist groups from countries that share a historical and cultural continuum with Senegal’s border areas.

As part of Axis 3 of its Strategic Plan 2020-2025 on “Promoting a culture of peace through an educational approach and the enhancement of endogenous resources, cultural heritage and strengthening resilience”, the Timbuktu Institute -African Center For Peace Studies- is pursuing the “Resilience at the borders” initiative, with Saint-Louis, Matam and Tambacoun chosenda as pilot sites. These areas, known for their sensitivity, should be given priority in peacebuilding and resilience-building initiatives as part of a preventive approach and to capitalise on the endogenous levers of resilience.

The dialogue sessions will begin with speeches by the Regional Director of the Timbuktu Institute and the Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. After the official opening by the Governor of the region or his representative, there will be an inaugural session on the “Regional security situation and the challenges of strengthening community resilience: complementary roles of the State and local populations”, by Dr. Bakary Sambe. This will be followed by a series of presentations on topics such as “Women and conflict, the role of women in Senegalese culture” and “Young people and radicalisation in border areas: risks and resilience factors”.

Perceptions of the conflict and of the relationship between the Defence and Security Forces and the population will be discussed at length during the group work, and the strategic formulated recommendations will be presented before the debriefing and closure of the session.

The recommendations will be shared with the national authorities as part of the contribution to the development and improvement of the frameworks for action adopted by the State of Senegal and its partners.

Credit: Timbuktu Institute

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