This Cultural Camp and Peace March will take place starting in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, from September 20th to 26th, 2011. Following on from the camp participants will pay advocacy visits to various authorities in Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana – this part of the campaign will begin from September 26th and continue until October 2, 2011.

The World without Wars and Violence Nigeria (WWW) group, together with Africa Youth Network on Small Arms Control, Terrorism and Nuclear Disarmament (BANg-Africa), in Collaboration with Amaebi Development Association (ADA), and the Int’l Centre for Women Empowerment and Child Development (ICWECD), will be generating a gathering of young people both local to Africa and from various countries of the world.

This Africa Youth Peace Camp will be in two parts. Over the first six days there will be a forum with talks and interchanges, lectures, workshops and a Peace Festival with artistic activities, concerts, and a planting of an Africa Peace Tree.

The latter last six days will see advocacy visits to introduce the Africa Youth Network on Small arms Control, Terrorism and Nuclear Disarmament and it’s campaign on Youth and Non-violence, Small Arms Control, Nuclear Disarmament, Terrorism, Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), Human Rights and sustainable Peace development to Selected State Governors, Speakers of Houses of Assembly and Mayors in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana.

Language: English with simultaneous translations into French. The camp will be hosting about 200 participants, mostly from Africa, Middle East and Europe – to share experiences, success stories and the challenges on non-violence, nuclear disarmament and arms control campaigns together.

This camp aims to promote a culture of peace and commitment – to inspire, motivate and involve participants in sustainable peace building and to create the necessary Africa and international awareness for non-violence campaigns, Arms control, terrorism, human rights and nuclear abolition.

With participant selected from local and international youth led organizations the camp will prepare future projects and prepare the ground for local and international cooperation through learning, playing and working together, through meetings and discussions. Participant will
experience and exchange on the diversity of our different cultures and our ideals for sustainable peace building.

Some planned talks:
The Culture of Peace: a UN tool in the hands of youth,
The Africa Union: a realisation of the Culture of Peace and the challenges in the 21st century,
The Libyan and Middle East conflicts,
Is the protection of Human Rights possible without a Culture of Peace?
Gender equality: A fundamental struggle in a Culture of Peace,
The UN Millennium Development Goals,
Access to natural resources and Peace,
The military and ecology: What are the effects of military activities on our planet?
Disarmament for development: Military spending vs fulfillment of human basic needs,
The struggle for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

This camp meeting aims to create a platform for young people to share ideas and make a contribution as active change agents in promoting sustainable peace and inaugurate the Africa Youth Network on Small Arms Control,Terrorism and Nuclear Disarmament (BANg-Africa)

“For the camp to have wider representation we humbly request for partnership and collaboration from your noble organization,” says Purpose Osamwonyi Iserhienrhien, project coordinator, “to assist us with campaign materials like leaflets, fliers, newsletters, books, toolkits, brochures, customized T-shirts, face-caps, bags, etc. Also, you may send a person to present a paper on any of the listed topics. Such person can also train others or share skills, experiences and his or her organization’s activities.”

WORLD WITHOUT WARS NIGERIA:
World Without Wars and without Violence Nigeria is an international humanist organization and a social movement whose objective is the creation of a non-violent world. The aspiration of WWW is to unite the anti-war movement, to connect the geographically dispersed
branches of pacifism and non-violence and also to give its point of view about apparently unrelated themes in order to advance in a global understanding of war and violence.

Discrimination, poverty, racism and other forms of violence, with their corresponding personal and social desperation and frustrations are the origin of a violence of greater magnitude whose maximum expressions are weapons of mass destruction.

AMAEBI DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION:
Amaebi Development Association is a youth and peace development group with a focus on non governmental organizations registered in Nigeria.

INT’L CENTRE FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (ICWECD):
is non governmental organization registered in Nigeria with a focus on women empowerment, child development and the prevention and control of all forms of violence against children, youth and women. ICWECD also promotes human rights and sustainable peace building in the Niger delta region of Nigeria

Contact: Purpose Osamwonyi Iserhienrhien, project coordinator
Africa Youth Peace Camp Meeting for a Culture of Peace,
World Without Wars Nigeria,
Mobile: +2348038758819,
Email: yacatnigeria@gmail.com