In July 2014, Gaza was again plunged into violent conflict resulting in unprecedented loss and suffering. More than 500 children were killed and nearly 3000 injured, and the widespread destruction left more than 100,000 people homeless. At only 16, Gazan resident Shurouq has lived through three wars. She shares her story with UNICEF and the work she is doing to spread messages of peace in her community. 

In Sierra Leone, where a civil war that ended more than a decade ago still casts a shadow of violence, a group of young performers is using theatre to raise awareness of violence and corporal punishment and to promote the message of peacebuilding.

Producer: Pi James, UNICEF, 2014

During the 2011 political crisis Côte d’Ivore, violence broke out in schools across the country, threatening the protective learning environment for children. Political manipulation institutionalized divisions and violence in schools. For the last three years students have been encouraged to join Peace Messenger Clubs. Through the Learning for Peace programme UNICEF has been working with these clubs, training students in conflict resolution, and other tools and skills to enable children to be agents of peace in their schools.

Producer: Pi James, UNICEF, 2014

UNICEF has worked with young people across Côte d’Ivore to set up the “Action Justice and Peace” network to engage in national reconciliation processes and train youth leaders to document young people’s experiences of the recent conflict. The network represents approximately 5000 members across the country, and young people have been trained in radio programming to share these stories and messages of peace with a mass audience, and encourage non-violence in the lead up to the next election at the end of 2015. Ouattara Adama, who is sharing his experience of taking up arms during the last violent conflict, said the project helped him forget many things and hopes his story will change their behavior and promote peace.

Producer: Pi James, UNICEF, 2014

Eugenie Zohole and her family fled Abidjan after the violence in 2012. After arriving in Mapussie in the west, Eugenie joined a UNICEF-supported mothers’ group which brought together women from different ethnicities. The women farm together and, with support from UNICEF, have built an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Center in their village. The ECD center now unites and reconciles women from different ethnic groups around the common goal of child wellbeing. The women attend literacy classes at the center and have received training to become peace messengers in their communities. This project is part of UNICEF’s Learning for Peace programme which links multiple communities through education interventions to build durable peace.

Producer: Pi James, UNICEF, 2014

A short advocacy film on how communities in Sindh province in southwest province Pakistan were recovering from the 2010 floods one year on, and how the IRC was working to support them. 

Watch the full video: https://vimeo.com/27257507

Producer: Pi James, IRC Pakistan, 2011.