Social justice is not merely an abstract concept but a vital necessity for communities grappling with systemic inequalities and injustices. Within the bustling streets of Kampala, Uganda, Sharing Youth Centre (SYC) stands as a beacon of hope, striving to address the multifaceted challenges faced by the youth in the region.
Handling an issue peacefully, calmly and without the slightest form of violence corresponds to peaceful conflict management. It reflects the various parties’ willingness to deal with a given situation calmly and serenely, without aggression. We are all aware of the feverish insecurity and socio-security disturbances that have prevailed throughout DR Congo, particularly in the province of Ituri.
Conflicts are inevitable in any human relationship. They are omnipresent and part of everyday life. We live in a society where the temptation to conflict and the desire for peace are closely related. Since conflict is natural and there is hardly any such thing as a life without conflict, it is crucial to be conscious of conflict in everyday life.
Who among us hasn’t experienced conflict in our communities? We are far from a paradisiacal state of absolute peace. From my experience, the theme of conflict easily provokes a feeling of malaise. It brings us back to the day-to-day realities that we experience. Ignoring conflicts, not wanting to see them, not talking about them, ignoring them or rushing back to a state of apparent tranquillity without managing them constructively are attitudes and habits that we observe, particularly in our religious circles.
The expression ‘si vis pacem para bellum’ (If you want peace, prepare for war) comes to my mind whenever I think about ‘peaceful resolution of conflicts’. In fact, living is itself a fight and existing implies will, freedom, and choices. These three essentials battle constantly in a human in existence, being in conflict with himself and his social milieu.
Peace is the desire of every member of any community or society. Regrettably, conflict is part of social dynamics, part of any progress and of any human development. Conflict brings crisis. Crisis is a “wake-up call” to tend to neglected issues which are essential for a healthy life together.
With the multiplicity of values proposed for our society today, it is no longer easy to define education. With the current tendency to relativise everything, how can we determine the appropriate education or distinguish between right and wrong? In this article, concerning the values and practices of the Senoufo people of yesteryear, we propose endogenous values and mechanisms as a possible way of inculcating a culture of peace.
While peace may not be of particular worry to some people, given that the realities of their living environment do not seem to frustrate their desire for well-being, it must be stressed that it is a treasure that is hard to come by for many men and women, such as those in South Sudan, who have suffered disastrous fratricidal conflicts for decades. It is impossible to live in such an environment without asking the existential question of education for a culture of peace.
On 11 May 2024, the Rome municipal authority organized a clean-up of the city. Roma Cura Roma (“Rome takes care of Rome”) is an important city event dedicated to the collective care of streets, squares, parks and green areas. Among the many volunteers who participated in the event were the Missionaries of Africa residing in the Generalate.
We are experiencing significant upheavals that affect all aspects of life in society because, as they say, social facts are total and global; for example, an economic crisis can destabilise the educational and security structure and compromise integral development, the foundation of peace.
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