Peace Initiative Conference in West Africa

West African Research Association Peace Initiative Conference in Sierra Leone (2010) and Cape Verde (2011)
African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review (ACPR) Volume 2 Issue 2
Guest Edited by Steven Howard

The articles in this special issue of African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review were selected from those presented at two conferences sponsored by the West African Research Association (WARA). The first of these two, part of a three-conference US Department of State-supported project, took place in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in December 2010. The second was held in Praia, Cape Verde, in December 2011. Both conferences focused on peacemaking in West Africa: in Freetown, the topic was “Faith Communities and their Role in Conflict,” and in Praia, “Media and Conflict.” The setting for both conferences–West Africa–is the site of religious diversity if not conflict, in every country of the region and most of its corners. The conferences that produced the papers published here try to examine the capacity that communities across the continent have for peace and reconciliation. In particular, the papers examine the way religious institutions foster reconciliation and peacebuilding and the critical role of media in consolidating peace.