Lead Zanzibar 2

LEAD training in Zanzibar, 8 – 12 June 2015

The LEAD training held in Stone Town, Zanzibar, on the 8th – 12th June 2015 brought together the Zanzibari civil society and the Zanzibar electoral commission ahead of the general elections in October 2015. 

The opening day of the workshop, meant not only to train local partners in conflict management, but also establish a permanent working group in a true collaborative fashion, was attended by the EU Delegation in Dar es Salaam via Ms. LuanaReale, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Political, Information and Press section as well as Anna-Maria Tammi, who joined the Delegation last year as a JPO. 

The mission members and thus workshop facilitators, consist of ECES' Executive Director, Fabio Bargiacchi, Senior Electoral Advisor, Anne-Sofie Holm Gerhard and Victoria Florinder, Election Conflict Management Advisor. The workshop was foremost built to address tendencies of civic unrest both before and after the elections and include both those who could incite violence and those who could help prevent and mitigate conflict. Political and community leaders, as well as key administrators, including from the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), were supported in develop conflict management tools. Training on conflict management and mediation was also provided to community and faith-based organisations, opening up more space for dialogue and strengthen inter-party and intra-community collaboration against violence including the facilitation of much needed intra-Muslim dialogue incentives.

Youth and women's organisations participated in the workshop and look forward to grow into more effective carriers of peace messages and specifically undertaken to increase public awareness on election related violence. 

The project workshop hosted many local non-state actors namely Zanzibar Interfaith Center (ZANZEC) Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in Zanzibar.