Media for Peace Summits - Liberia

Liberia has largely witnessed peaceful elections in 2017. However, since then, many instances of violence have been recorded throughout the country. With the upcoming senatorial elections in December, it is crucial to bring Liberians together around ideals and practices of peace. 

Media Education Team (MET) and Xchange Perspectives (XcP) e.V. see, therefore, an urgent need to address the rising violence in Liberia, by conducting Media for Peace Summits in the country. The partners have decided to hold these summits in Lofa, Grand Bassa and Monrovia because these areas have historically been amongst the most prone to acts of political and electoral violence. The summits bring together diverse representatives of Liberian society, such as media, religious, political and civil society and youth representatives. They together explore the different aspects of the Media for Peace framework (see below). The aim is for all to leave with a common and shared determination to uphold Media for Peace values, particularly in the sensitive times ahead and during the elections. 

MET and XcP have been able, through volunteering efforts alone, to hold a first summit in Grand Bassa County. We need support in order to continue with the following two summits.

These summits constitute a first pilot edition of the Media for Peace Summits in Liberia. The long-term aim of the Media for Peace summits is to support the creation of healthy peace-oriented communities.

What is Media for Peace?

Since 2009, the Xchange Perspectives e.V. (XcP) team has been delivering workshops and training, producing movies, music videos and reports, building radio stations and capacities in Africa, Europe and Asia. The Media for Peace framework is the backbone of every action carried out by XcP.  Implementing Media for Peace actions means that our work, as practitioners, is grounded in five essential values: Unity, Diversity, Transcendence, Empathy and Commitment. 

A Media for Peace process triggers reflections on what we mean by peace, conflict and violence, and how these understandings affect and apply in our day-to-day work and life. We then observe and analyse our current media landscape prevalent in our communities and globally. This is followed by an introduction to a theory on how the media can be used for peace, and the practice thereof, through the different stages of social change. Media for Peace wraps all these insights and applies them to the project,  task, situation or conflict at hand, always in cooperation with our partners.