February 1, 2008
CIÂ receives grant from Compton Foundation
Coexistence International has received a $34,000 grant from the Compton Foundation to complete a year-long project on Democracy, Conflict, and Coexistence in West Africa. This project seeks to strengthen participatory and inclusive democratic governance, which is a critical building block for the prevention of future violence in post-conflict and divided societies of West Africa.
In order to most effectively resolve conflicts and achieve sustainable peace and lasting security, coexistence efforts need to be fully integrated into democracy and governance programs. Daily news and political analysis from Iraq, Sierra Leone, and Sri Lanka, among others, point to the fact that when well-meaning efforts at democracy promotion do not take coexistence issues into account, these efforts can have a negative and divisive effect on intercommunal relations and on the overall socio-political situation in individual states and entire regions.
The project will contribute to knowledge in this area by sharing experiences, best practice, and learning from international and regional intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions that design and implement democracy and governance programs. These actors will be brought together in a capacity-building workshop in October. From this workshop will emerge key lessons, as well as a West Africa-specific guide to the intersection of democracy and coexistence, in both English and French.
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