The second Southern Africa Religious Youth Peace Camp took place on October 30 under the auspices of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, and Restoration of Light (HWPL). More than 60 young people from various religions collaborated at the virtual peace camp to identify and eradicate prejudices against religion in their communities. The program was put on in cooperation with Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism young organization SABC TV Religion and Youth Development Mozambique (iDove).
This peace camp’s topic was “Religious Identity.” Its purpose was to provide a forum for young people to discuss their religious convictions while also educating one another about other faiths and assisting them in recognizing the stereotypes associated with various faiths.
Due to terrorist strikes and security force operations, a religious conflict that has lasted four years in Mozambique is still going on today. Over 3,000 people have died as a result of the attacks, which have also forced hundreds of thousands of young people to leave their homes and move.
“The gathering comes at a time when the continent needs to transfer values of inclusion, democracy, and dialogue to the young people as an important part of ensuring Africa has a strong future,” said keynote speaker Mr. Nyasha Musikambesa, Counter Violent Extremist Programme Advisor at the Youth Innovation Centre in Mozambique. In addition, Musikambesa said that in these difficult times, it is crucial to building a solid foundation for interfaith discourse on forums like this.
The program of the peace camp featured conversations around frequently asked issues and frequently misunderstood themes. They used scripture as their guide. The participating youth also discussed how young people may help prevent religious conflicts in Africa and around the world while reviewing the Case of Mindanao, where a 40-year war was settled thanks to HWPL’s assistance.
The purpose of HWPL’s Religious Youth Peace Camp is to give young people the opportunity to discuss religion and culture with other young people and members of youth organizations from across the world, which will help them develop their abilities and become major players in peaceful conflict resolution. Participants learn about other cultures and religions while discovering how religious communities ought to operate in order to bring about world peace.
Since September 18th, 2014, the host group, HWPL, has urged cooperation among many actors, including heads of state, ministers, parliamentarians, religious leaders, educators, youth and women leaders, and reporters, in order to advance peacebuilding on a worldwide scale. This yearly gathering of leaders from civil society and governments from around the world to discuss peace initiatives and successes.
For more information on HWPL’s peace activities within Southern Africa, please contact press_za@hwpl.kr
