As part of activities celebrating the 2023 Youth Day, #defyhatenow engaged internet users to create and share video with messages of peace; three female winners emerged. 

As part of the Youth Week, #defyhatenow_WCA organized a series of activities to mark the celebration, among which were awareness-raising on our work, sensitization outreach, training activities and online campaign for young people around peacebuilding and the fight against mis/disinformation and hate speech. The online campaign was  an opportunity to launch an online challenge towards the Youth to reaffirm their commitment to Peace and social cohesion in Cameroon. The challenge was launched on social media with the aim to generate content around the hashtag #Youth4Peace, re-energise the commitment of our online youth community to the fight against hate speech and misinformation, raise the interest of online users on #defyhatenow_WCA’s actions, create a close relationship with our community and to convert our followers into #defyhatenow ambassadors. 

This challenge was made to happen in five different steps: 

Step 1: Follow our social media Accounts

Step 2: Create and Upload a short 45 second video 

Step 3: Tag #defyhatenow_WCA & Civic Watch Cameroon accounts using the following hashtags : #Youth4Peace #defyhatenow #ThinkB4UClick

Step 4: Share the link of their video content in different groups to get the highest number of likes, comments and shares. 

Step 5: Share the link of their post on our Facebook in the comment section where the announcement  of the challenge was made. 

At the end of the challenge, there were 3 winners who had collected the most engagement on their video, with a symbolic prize awarded to each of them. After the challenge, we had our three winners who got selected in respect to their captivating messages, language choice and total engagement around the campaign but most importantly their ability to mobilise more youths to join in the challenge even in the least way by liking, commenting or sharing the post inorder to push forth the message of a #Peaceful and #HateFreeCameroon.

Meet our #Youth4Peace Challenge Winners

The first winner was Pechuqui Laurata, a documentary filmmaker, journalist, media, and development enthusiast. She holds a BSc in Communication and Development from the University of Bamenda. She volunteers with CBS Radio Bamenda and also runs a blog. She is part of a group that works towards producing documentary films and videos on Sustainable Development Goals. To view her video Click here. 

Junie Pouorgounal was the second winner of our challenge. She is a journalist and an external contributor to CRTV Adamaoua. She is also Secretary General of the Gogetters women Africa association (GOWA), a fellow of the 6th cohort of the #AFFCameroon (Africa Fact Checking Fellowship). Junie holds a professional degree in Journalism from the University of Maroua. She is interested in women issues, inclusive and quality education, peace and the environment.  In this context, she uses the means at her disposal (social networks, reports, etc.) to promote peace for a safe space where women can assert themselves. Junie was recently awarded a fellowship from the YALI RLC Accra emerging leaders program, where she was trained in Public Management and Policy. To listen to her message click here. 

Mbuh Stella, third winner of the challenge is equally an award winning multimedia journalist based in the North West Region of Cameroon. She is a content creator who runs a YouTube channel and a Facebook page, meant for the publication of news in her community. She had been recognized twice for braving difficult terrains in the North West Region to give a professional touch to news reporting. Stella is a cohort 2 fellow of the #AFFCameroon (Africa Fact Checking Fellowship Cameroon) a #defyhatenow project. Enjoy her pidgin english video here.

The entire #defyhatenow team expresses their hearty congratulations to all the winners and a big THANK YOU to all contestants who took time out to participate in the #Youth4Peace challenge and for pushing the message of peace further for a #HateFreeCameroon. Feel Free revisit all the videos produced and shared during the Challenge here in English  and French