Women league releases guides to boost social cohesion, fight hate speech....

The documents are titled: “Guide for Political Education in Respect of Diversity and the Promotion of Peace” and “Guide for Youth Education in Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion and Peace”.

Present at the event were some Members of Parliament, MPs, leaders of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, as well as WILPF officials.

According to the President of WILPF Cameroon, Nathalie Wokam Foko, the documents were produced with the support of the United Nations Democracy Fund, UNDEF.

Wokam said the goal is to strengthen social cohesion and combat hate speech and political violence ahead of elections in 2025. 

The WILPF Cameroon boss said young people, youth councillors, teachers, journalists and political players, among others are the first target of the publications.

She declared that: “WILPF Cameroon and its local implementing partners are committed to creating inclusive and safe spaces where young people can express themselves, participate actively and contribute positively to the political life and development of their municipality”.

The WILPF Cameroon boss explained that in developing the guides, young web influencers among others were engaged to visit communities.  Issues such as the dangers of hate speech, peace promotion, tolerance, mutual respect and intercultural understanding.

The project, she explained, is a proactive response to the challenges facing young people in Cameroon. 

Wokam said her organisation is investing in the promotion of social cohesion and preventing hate speech and political violence to build a country where peace and democracy can prevail.

The guide, Wokam further situated, “comes in a context marked by political crisis and a toxic climate between the administration, political players since the 2018 presidential election”.

To ensure an improved climate in 2025 wherein several elections are expected to hold, WILPF Cameroon Wokam said, is through the publication of the guides introducing  a preventive approach “to significantly reduce hate speech online and offline to promote a more harmonious cohabitation between the various,” political actors.

With the publication, Wokam said they are bent on working to improve “the conditions of interaction between different groups of young men and women, including civil society, students, political players and young municipal councillors, some of whom are Internally Displaced Persons”.

The guides production exercises, the WILPF Cameroon President stated, took her team to Douala, Mandjou, Mokolo and Yaounde.

About WILPF& UNDEF

WILPF Cameroon is the Cameroonian section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF. It is an international Non-Governmental Organisation working for peace and social justice since 1915. 

UNDEF is a United Nations entity that supports democratic initiatives worldwide by providing funding and technical support to civil society organisations, government institutions and non-governmental organisations. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3150 of Wednesday June 26, 2024