Surely there has to be another way to deal with divisions and conflict between nations without going to war and killing thousands of innocent children and people?

Pax Christi International facilitated a conference gathering bringing together representatives of its African member organizations from 5-9 December 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa. They explored the theme, “Nonviolence in Africa: Creating a Future of Hope”. Over 30 member organisations from nine African nations were represented, in addition to presenters and facilitators from a number of other countries. The onsite host for the conference was the Denis Hurley Peace Institute, a member organisation based in South Africa. Key activities during the conference included keynote presentations and respondents, small group discussions and activities, a visit to the Apartheid Museum, and trainings.

Peace still evades many in great or small conflicts. We are good at pointing the so called big conflicts, and forget about the violence that takes place in our homes through domestic gender based violence.

The following statement was issued by the participants from African member organisations at the Pax Christi International conference, “Nonviolence in Africa: Creating a Future of Hope.”