A three-day workshop has opened in Bamako, Mali, bringing together stakeholders from four West African countries to co-create messages aimed at promoting cross-border peace and social cohesion.
The initiative forms part of the “Peaceful and Resilient Cross-Border Regions in the Sahel-Coastal Countries of Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Mali – Cross-Border Cooperation (SKBoWa)” project, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with co-funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU).
The participants were expected to design clear, adaptable, and impactful messages to enhance human security governance, strengthen social cohesion, and foster economic development in border communities across the four countries.
The workshop followed National Preparatory Meetings held in each participating country, where key awareness messages were developed for both local and trans-border communities.
These messages focused on strengthening social cohesion, preventing conflict, and combating violent extremism.
Among them were: “Let us dialogue to prevent conflicts”; “Land and water are our common heritage, let us protect them together”; “Let us not fall into the hands of hatred”; and “Extremism leads to destruction.”
Addressing the participants at the opening session, Mr Raymond Menou, a representative of the GIZ Country Director for Mali, noted that the co-created messages would significantly shape public perceptions and encourage acceptance of peace, tolerance, and solidarity.
He expressed confidence that the outcomes would be inclusive and sensitive to the fundamental human rights of all people, regardless of their vulnerability or risk of discrimination.
“The aim of these information and awareness-raising activities is, on one hand, to strengthen peaceful cohesion between local populations and those who live in trans-frontal spaces, and, on the other hand, to arouse respect and take into account fundamental principles such as human rights, gender equality and all our frames,” he explained.
Mr Seydou Ouane, the National Director of Borders, Mali, who chaired the session, highlighted that national borders, though “spaces of life and solidarity,” were increasingly challenged by issues that undermined peace and socio-economic progress.
These challenges included resource-related disputes, insecurity linked to violent extremism, tensions over transhumance, inadequate access to basic services, migration and border demarcation disputes.
Mrs. Dicko Djeyneba, a representative of the Permanent Secretary of Borders, Burkina Faso, observed: “The African borders are a zone of embracing and integration between people which, by the will of the colonizers, have been separated.”
She emphasised that border communities often shared common languages, customs, and social, economic, and historical ties, making cross-border cohesion more critical.
Mrs. Theodora Enyonam Obobi Botchway, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Boundary Commission, commended GIZ and its partners for creating the platform to develop messages that promoted cross-border peace and cohesion.
She urged the participants to collaborate effectively to craft messages capable of driving positive change in local and cross-border communities.