Diaspora
Dialogues
#defyhatenow Diaspora Dialogue series seeks to amplify the voices and actions of Cameroonians living abroad in defyhatenow’ s counter hate speech work and conflict transformation/peacebuilding engagements in Cameroon. This dimension of the broader #defyhatenow initiative comes after the observation that there is a degree of truth in classifying the diaspora community of Cameroon as a probable conflict influencer in Cameroon especially via social media and the propagation of violence in Cameroon.
Even if our efforts have been mild, we have been able to achieve the following:
2024 Diaspora Dialogue Series
Series 2:
Navigating Bamenda
May 9th & June 10th 2024
The Navigating Bamenda event series was conceived as an encounter program seeking to bring voices from Bamenda- the major city in English speaking Cameroon which has in the last six years been the theatre of the violent conflict with continuous and sporadic animosity between separatist armed groups and the military of the Republic of Cameroon.
NAVIGATING BAMENDA Part 1
NAVIGATING BAMENDA Part 2
Series 1:
Panel Discussion
Feb 14th, 2024
Topic: Cameroon Youths at the crossroads of crisis: The role of diaspora youth in the conflict.
On 11th February every year, youth Day is celebrated in Cameroon. There is a stretch of two week activities beginning with the bilingualism week which seeks to promote the culture of using the two official languages that stretches into the next week called youth week with the climax being the 11th February, the national youth day. On the eve of youth day , 91 year old president Paul Biya makes a special address to the country’s young people. In 2024, he talked about the growing outflow of young people from Cameroon to other parts of the world. The diaspora continues to expand as the crisis in Cameroon remains unresolved. Since young people at the most affected by the crisis on one hand and also other ones were engaged in migration both regular and irregular, the subject cannot be ignored.
2023 Diaspora Dialogue
Panel Discussion
Sept 23rd, 2023
Topic: Potentials in Conflict Transformation for Cameroon from within the diaspora
The Panel Discussion organized on the 23rd of September was the first in a series of Cameroon Diaspora Dialogues as we intend to organize these quarterly (after every four months or so, across the year). In these dialogues we shall invite different members of the Cameroonians living abroad community from the different parts of the world to discuss different aspects of ideas around the subject of finding a positive pathway for peace in Cameroon.The introductory panel consisted of the following.
2022 Diaspora Dialogue
The #237footBERLIN Calendar 2023
December 8, 2022
Topic: Football, Peacebuilding, and Human Rights An evening of discussion and reflection & Launch of the #237footBERLIN Calendar 2023 An initiative of #defyhatenow
Considering the influence the diaspora community has over socio-economic progress and the conflict situation in Cameroon, #defyhatenow understands the importance of engaging with the diaspora community. In Berlin, the focus has been on the diaspora football clubs. The aim is to identify and support the voices in these clubs that can help support peacebuilding efforts back home.
For this, r0g_agency in Berlin Charlottenburg held an evening event. The 2023 calendar was presented, discussed the work we do, and had a discussion about diaspora football and its importance in peacebuilding.
2021 Diaspora Dialogue
#defyhatenow Diaspora Meetup Lunch
November 20, 2021
The #defyhatenow diaspora meetup lunch took place on 20.11.2021, at Schillerstr. 20, Berlin. The main aim of the event was to create a network of Cameroonian diaspora actors and to create a platform to identify and support voices and actions mitigating and transforming the conflict. The event, organized as a community dialogue, also aimed to:
- Inform on peace oriented social media use,
- Enhancing social media skills for diaspora,
- Enhancing social media skills for diaspora-based influencers, and;
- Opening dialogue on common actions towards mitigating conflict in Cameroon.
During the event moderated by Pricilia Manja and Valerie Viban, participants exchanged on the conflict, its history, the role of the diaspora both as conflict influencers and as peacebuilders and what actions could be taken towards peacebuilding. Participants at the the meeting exchanged around the themes:
