In addition to its Peace Journalism and conflict transformation activities on the ground, the Cameroon Community Media Network, CCMN Littoral chapter, has made training, one of its strengths. To the CCMN Littoral Regional Coordinator, Regina Liengu Etaka Esong, promoting peace also means educating young people and training actors in the field. This is because the audience is diverse, including actors belonging to the various stakeholders of a given conflict. Under these circumstances, the training venue becomes a real mediation space where the participants, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge, get to know each other, to exchange and to make joint analyses.
Far from their usual capacity building modules, members were drilled on on corporate social responsibility CSR. the reason for the choice of this module is simply because, as the CCMN Regional Coordinator for the Littoral puts it;
"We find our selves in a community whereby most companies do not respect their corporate social responsibility policies. Most often some instead make life unbearable in the host communities. The peace journalist that we are, we have to be proactive reasons why we have to start reporting on some of the things that most corporations and companies within our communities do that might result in violent conflict in future. So today will be enlightened on what corporate social responsibility is all about and their responsibility within their host communities. We will also receive skills on how to educate the public through our programs and publications on nonviolent solutions to future conflicts with the companies that they are hosting."
Opening the meeting, the Regional Coordinator welcomed participants by recalling that a lot was being done in the background.
I welcome you here today after our last network meeting. Since then, a lot has gone under the bridge but we thank God for keeping us strong and bringing us here again after our last Network meeting. Since our last meeting, we have carried on so many campaigns online including that on hate speech, fake news and misinformation, fight against gender-based violence. I wish to thank all those who took part in the campaigns and who used the flyers on their different social media handles.”
It was also an opportunity for the Regional Coordinator of CCMN Littoral, Regina Liengu Etaka Esong, to call on all members to always put hands on deck when online campaigns are launched.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on other members who sparingly take part in such campaigns to do so when ever need arises. As Peace Journalists that we are, we give peacemakers a voice while making peace initiatives and non-violent solutions more visible and viable.” As peace journalists we are not just reporting facts but the “what and how” we report makes the difference. We should also remember that as Peace journalists we are out to shed light on structural and cultural causes of violence, as they impact upon the lives of people in a conflict arena as part of the explanation for violence. We are out to frame conflicts as consisting of many parties and pursuing many goals rather than a simple dichotomy.”
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| Thierry Tene discussing with participants on CSR |
Facilitated by Thierry Tene, the capacity building meeting gave an opportunity for CCMN members of the Littoral chapter, to get to know more about SCR. As important as CSR is for the community, it is equally valuable for a company. CSR activities can help forge a stronger bond between employees and corporations, boost morale, and aid both employees and employers in feeling more connected to the world around them.
For a company to be socially responsible, it first needs to be accountable to itself and its shareholders. Companies that adopt CSR programs have often grown their business to the point where they can give back to society. Thus, CSR is typically a strategy that's implemented by large corporations. After all, the more visible and successful a corporation is, the more responsibility it has to set standards of ethical behavior for its peers, competition, and industry.
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| Regional Coordinator and some participants. |
The trainings provided by CCMN are often a great success, with positive feedback from participants and further training requests. CCMN therefore commits itself to continue its necessary work in the regions where it conducts programs to create peaceful societies and promote dialogue by different means and actors, as a non-violent solution to conflicts. Training journalists in the concepts and techniques of peace journalism and also giving them knowledge on CSR is to promote access to properly established information, to make people understand the causes and issues of conflict, and finally to encourage the participation of society in the peaceful transformation of these conflicts.
“This training has been very useful for us. We will frame everything that we learned during this intense and informative day with our local context. It will be our contribution to alleviating the multiple tensions we are experiencing, especially in the different communities where we live.“ said Eileen Sama, one of a participant.
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| Family Photo |
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