Dialogue Towards Reconciliation
Our Project
Dialogue Towards Reconciliation
- First edition: October 2018 – February 2019.
- Extended version: September 2022 – December 2022
“Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” is a specialized project aimed at promoting and building peace by equipping and training youth to lead conflict resolution sessions and encouraging stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogues on issues of local conflicts and national reconciliation. The project is implemented with high professionalism and utilizes the best global practices in conflict management and dialogue enhancement.
“Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” is a specialized project aimed at promoting and building peace by equipping and training youth to lead conflict resolution sessions and encouraging stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogues on issues of local conflicts and national reconciliation. The project is implemented with high professionalism and utilizes the best global practices in conflict management and dialogue enhancement.
The project also includes advocacy and awareness campaigns aimed at increasing community awareness of the importance of these initiatives. This is done through the use of social media and traditional media to disseminate positive messages and promote the values of peace and peaceful coexistence in society.
The “Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” project has been implemented in successive stages, with the first phase starting at the end of 2018 and continuing until the beginning of 2019. This phase was conducted as a small-scale pilot project in the city of Misrata. The project achieved significant success and had a positive impact on the local community.
Due to the success of the initial project, a decision was made to expand its scope and implement a larger and broader version in 2022. This expanded version targeted several other Libyan cities with the aim of promoting a culture of dialogue, reconciliation, and peacebuilding in different parts of the country.
- National Training in Dialogue Management and Conflict Resolution: This activity aims to train participants in the skills of dialogue management and conflict resolution. The training includes analyzing local problems and providing comprehensive solutions that contribute to resolving conflicts in peaceful and constructive ways. This activity aims to empower participants to contribute to projects that promote peacebuilding within the Libyan society.
- Community Dialogues: These dialogues bring together various stakeholders in the targeted municipalities to discuss peace issues in their areas and national reconciliation. Participants are encouraged to be key partners in this process and express their opinions, hopes, and suggestions to enhance dialogue and reconciliation in the community.
- Consultative Research: This activity aims to conduct in-depth research on the context of conflict in the targeted municipalities. It analyzes the social, cultural, economic, and political factors that impact local conflicts. This research is based on consulting experts and local stakeholders to achieve a better understanding of challenges and opportunities for reconciliation and peace.
- Focus Groups: A group of stakeholders in each municipality gathers in small groups to focus on specific issues related to dialogue and reconciliation. These groups are used to exchange opinions, experiences, and develop shared insights on how to enhance dialogue and reconciliation in the community.
- Social Media Awareness Campaign: A comprehensive awareness campaign is implemented on social media platforms to increase community awareness of the importance of dialogue and reconciliation. The campaign includes educational brochures, posts, and informative videos that highlight the values of peace, peaceful coexistence, and the importance of dialogue in building national reconciliation.
- Peace Messages Workshops: Special workshops are organized to develop and disseminate peace messages within the community. Influencers participate in these workshops to create positive messages aimed at promoting awareness of the importance of peace, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, and developing effective communication skills to express peaceful messages in impactful and inspiring ways.
- Research Paper on the Impact of Dialogue on National Reconciliation: A research paper has been conducted to explore the impact of dialogue and reconciliation at the national level. The paper includes an analysis of successful practices and challenges facing dialogue and reconciliation processes in Libya, as well as providing recommendations to enhance and deepen these processes in the future.
The “Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” project, implemented at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, was an experimental project aimed at promoting dialogue and national reconciliation in Libya. A series of dialogues were organized, bringing together stakeholders from various segments of Libyan society, including youth, dignitaries, elders, legal professionals, athletes, and artists.
These dialogues were conducted directly and were attended by a select group from different Libyan cities, in addition to resident participants in Libya. These sessions were documented and broadcasted live on social media, allowing the audience to follow and participate in the dialogues as well.
Diverse groups were chosen to ensure comprehensive representation of various sectors of Libyan society. The dialogues aimed to focus on topics related to national reconciliation, facilitate consultations, exchange opinions and experiences, and develop shared visions on how to enhance dialogue and reconciliation in the country.
Social media platforms were utilized to make the dialogues accessible to a wider audience. They were live-streamed, and informative videos were provided, allowing the public to engage by asking questions and participating in online discussions.
This project aims to raise societal awareness about the importance of dialogue and reconciliation in building peace and achieving stability in Libya. It also seeks to enhance community participation, deepen understanding and cooperation among all relevant parties, and strengthen social and cultural relationships in the country.
The “Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” project was implemented in 2022 as an expanded version of the one carried out in 2018 at the municipality level in Misrata. While the project had an immediate impact in shaping mutual understanding of the topics discussed among leaders and community members, we observed that its influence was limited in terms of the number of people who attended the dialogue sessions. As an organization, we work towards peacebuilding from the grassroots level to the national level by reducing social gaps between different parties, aiming to achieve a level of local social cohesion that forms the basis for any national peace initiatives.
Therefore, in September 2022, the Dialogue & Debate Association (DDA) partnered once again with the United Nations Development Programme to design the second edition of the Dialogue Towards Reconciliation project. Building on our previous experience, we decided to empower the direct beneficiaries of the project to lead peace messaging activities in their local communities even after the project itself concludes. As a result, we trained 47 Libyan youth from different cities to deliver peace messaging activities and facilitate dialogue sessions by involving them in conflict resolution and dialogue management train-the-trainer programs.
On the other hand, each targeted city has a unique local context and different challenges in peacebuilding. These differences have led to specific needs for each city, and the research partner, represented by the Peace Studies Center, played an important role in understanding and studying the various local contexts and identifying their specific needs. Additionally, after implementing the train-the-trainer program, we supported the participants in implementing peace messaging activities and dialogue sessions in their local communities, formulating their own outputs. These outputs were later used as a primary input for producing the research paper titled “The Impact of Dialogue on National Reconciliation.
The “Dialogue Towards Reconciliation” project was implemented in 2022 as an expanded version of the one carried out in 2018 at the municipality level in Misrata. While the project had an immediate impact in shaping mutual understanding of the topics discussed among leaders and community members, we observed that its influence was limited in terms of the number of people who attended the dialogue sessions. As an organization, we work towards peacebuilding from the grassroots level to the national level by reducing social gaps between different parties, aiming to achieve a level of local social cohesion that forms the basis for any national peace initiatives.
Therefore, in September 2022, the Dialogue & Debate Association (DDA) partnered once again with the United Nations Development Programme to design the second edition of the Dialogue Towards Reconciliation project. Building on our previous experience, we decided to empower the direct beneficiaries of the project to lead peace messaging activities in their local communities even after the project itself concludes. As a result, we trained 47 Libyan youth from different cities to deliver peace messaging activities and facilitate dialogue sessions by involving them in conflict resolution and dialogue management train-the-trainer programs.
On the other hand, each targeted city has a unique local context and different challenges in peacebuilding. These differences have led to specific needs for each city, and the research partner, represented by the Peace Studies Center, played an important role in understanding and studying the various local contexts and identifying their specific needs. Additionally, after implementing the train-the-trainer program, we supported the participants in implementing peace messaging activities and dialogue sessions in their local communities, formulating their own outputs. These outputs were later used as a primary input for producing the research paper titled “The Impact of Dialogue on National Reconciliation.
The project activities were implemented in the following cities:
- Misrata.
- Zuwara.
- Al-Kufra.
- Bani Walid.
- Murzuq.
Dialogue Towards Reconciliation succeeded in having:
- 47 trainers in dialogue management and conflict resolution from various municipalities.
- +400 young people of both genders participated in dialogue sessions in five municipalities.
- +350,000 individuals were targeted in an awareness campaign through social media platforms about peace messaging and violence prevention.
