DIALOGUE IN THE DESERT · says Abouzeidi. “It is about fair play and tolerance. Sport is also about gathering people from different generations, from different religions and backgrounds.”

At the heart of a complex region, Niger has seen a transition to democracy after a constitutional crisis and military coup in 2010. A focus country of the EU Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel, Niger has felt the impact of turbulence and conflict in neighbouring states. The EU supports a variety of projects in Niger to help stop violence before it starts, including working with local religious leaders to foster social cohesion and development. The IcSP-funded Project REVE led several successful initiatives. It provided young people with the space to engage with issues concerning their future. It supported the development of media monitoring to record and evaluate hate speech. And it ran inter- and intra-religious dialogue workshops, bringing Muslims and Christians together to build on what

unites them as Nigeriens, as well as promoting reconciliation between and within different branches of Islam and Christianity themselves.

NIGERIENS TOGETHER: THE VALUE OF SOCIAL COHESIONProject REVE – Revalorisation du vivre ensemble, or “Revaluing living together” – aimed to bring people together in the wake of a difficult period, and to make young people and religious figures responsible for peace in Niger. It ran in the capital Niamey, as well as the towns of Maradi, Zinder and Diffa from January 2014 to November 2015.

The project focused on risk factors including the rise in extremism and religious intolerance in neighbouring countries, pressure caused by the return of Nigeriens from abroad, and the recruitment of young people into Boko Haram from south-eastern Niger, a region which has

August 2016

DIALOGUE IN THE DESERTPROMOTING RELIGIOUS HARMONY IN NIGER

Co-funded by the

This project was one of a number of IcSP-funded projects in Niger. For more information about the work of the IcSP in Niger and other projects it has funded click here.

“We have invited each other to our festivals – to Ramadan and to Christmas.”

Local groups can respond to conflict at source

Inter-religious committees were formed in Niamey, Diffa, Maradi and Zinder

Christian and Muslims are better able to reduce community tensions

Dialogue has become a key tool in conflict prevention

Increased awareness of issues relating to peacebuilding and violent extremism

Approximately 2.7 million people reached through Project REVE media partners

Image credit: LM TP: bit.ly/29vPKgH

Key outcomes

seen suicide attacks by the Nigerian group. Young people in particular are at risk of succumbing to the extremist narratives of religious groups.

In this context, Project REVE, which consisted of 20 separate initiatives in Niger, supported religious leaders to develop initiatives for peaceful development.

The project helped launch inter-religious committees in the four target areas. Christian and Muslim organisations came together to conduct radio broadcasts, hold joint conferences, and run community conflict resolution and prevention programmes. REVE also organised events between different movements inside the same religion. The

intra-religious dialogue eased understanding and acceptance of differences, thereby contributiong to fighting violent extremism.

One organisation, AJDE (Alliance des jeunes pour le Développement endogène), used sport to convey its message. AJDE President, Abdoul Azizi Abouzeidi, helped organise basketball tournaments for local youths. During the games, participants wore t-shirts with clear messages: “Peace, our promise,” and “Peace, a behaviour”. Every break between games was an occasion to read a poem or a sketch on peace.

“We chose sport because tolerance is the norm,” says Abouzeidi. “It is about fair play and tolerance. Sport is also about gathering people from different generations, from different religions and

backgrounds.”

Elsewhere, delegations from the peacebuilding groups involved in the project went on tour to reinforce their message of dialogue and diversity. In

Maradi, the Reverend Father Sani Nomaou, the general secretary of the inter-religious committee in Maradi, representing the Evangelical Church of Niger, explains: “working with the inter-religious committee has enabled us all to acquire a new look on each other, to tell ourselves that we are all the same. We have invited each other to our religious festivals, such as the end of fasting during Ramadan, and Christmas.”

Project REVE took place during a key time for the country, with politics at the forefront of public life.

And its leaders are confident that it was a success. According to Bachir Abba, general secretary of the inter-religious dialogue committee in Zinder:

“After the declaration of the controversial results of the presidential election in March 2016,

there was calm in Zinder. This can in part be linked to the work of the inter-religious and

conflict prevention committees.”

Project REVE Coordinator Ibrahim Niandou was pleased with the results of the project. For Niandou,

it has enabled young people to gain access to resources to finance their activities, to enhance their image, to gain experience, and most of all, to become confident young Nigeriens, working for a peaceful future. Almost everyone who has worked with REVE wants to continue to promote peace and conflict prevention. The gains are clear to see.

“Project REVE took place during a key time for the country, with politics at the forefront of public life

“

Contact: REvalorisation du Vivre Ensemble, Niamey Quartier Cité STIN, non loin de Radio Ouallam ; +227 20 35 21 92 ; Email [email protected]

Project informationLocations Diffa, Maradi, Niamey, ZinderProject name Projet REVE - REvalorisation du Vivre Ensemble (Increasing Together)Implementing CARE Danmark Fonden For Frivillig Upartners Landsbistand, SOS Civisme NigerProject duration 01/01/2014 - 30/11/2015Type of project Confidence building, mediation and dialogueEU funding €1,100,000

This report is published by IcSP and Peace Direct. It was created in collaboration with Peace Direct’s Local Peacebuilding Expert in Niger, Oumarou Gado. For more information on this project, and other IcSP funded initiatives around the world, visit www.insightonconflict.org/icsp

Project REVE Coordinator Ibrahim Niandou says that in a tense context, young people have become confident

in delivering a message of peace