IPC
International Peace Conference on Youth Development and Democracy
…promoting global culture of peace in the 21st Century
Background Information
Young people around the world have often been victims of violent conflicts and war. Their energies are sourced and often used to front violent acts and conflicts.
Recent studies have found a significant correlation between large youth cohorts and political instability and violence.
A large pool of young people does not need to be destabilizing, however if young people-particularly young men – are uprooted, intolerant, jobless, and have few opportunities for positive engagement, they represent a ready pool of recruits for ethnic, religious, and political extremists seeking to mobilize violence.
In many developing countries, young people are coming of age in societies that lack stable government, economic growth, or basic material and physical security. In such circumstances, youth often turn away from the authority and ideology of older generations and seek to mobilize their own generation in search of solutions.
In Ghana for instance, the youth have been directly involved in political, chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts in trouble spots like Bawku, Alavanyo-Nkunya, Kokomba-Nanumba, Buipe and Anloga among others.
This can be extremely positive. In some places young people have been a powerful force for constructive change. In Serbia, young people played a key role in toppling Milosevic, and were instrumental in producing democratic revolution in Slovakia, Georgia, and the Ukraine.
The youth are not the only key actors or initiators of these violence acts but the aged play the vital role. Politician, religious and community leaders take advantage of lack of jobs and other positive opportunities, youthful energies of the hungry youth and offer them resources (money, ammunitions and promises of job opportunities) to front violence conflicts and wars just to help achieve their personal means at the detriment of nation and continental interest.
These acts of the youth and aged in our modern societies if not checked and properly addressed, the future of our nation and that of the rest of the world would be in catastrophe in few years to come.
The understanding religion, politics and democracy in our parts of the world is yet another serious issue to be looked at. These societal elements in this 21st century have no doubt of having a direct bearing and devastating effects on our conflict situations and underdevelopment.
These conflict situations have been one of the major contributory factors for under development in most African countries. In Ghana for instance, in our recent field survey, it has reveal that the conflict situation in the Northern part of the country has further deepen the unwillingness of businesses, teachers, doctor and other developmental agents of going there hence contributing greatly to its under development.
Objectives of the Conference:
As a matter of necessity, with collective will and responsibility, we as members of the global community must see these conflict situations as a global threat than just a national one.
This conference therefore aims at:
- Empowering critical stakeholders with the needed skills for developing and implementing practical policies and programmes towards building a global culture of peace
- Providing a global based platform for all stakeholders (practitioners, academies, governments, non-governmental organizations among others) to share ideas, relevant resources and information that will be helpful for sustainable programs and projects related to promoting global peace and development
- Celebrating outstanding leaders who are committed at promoting peace and development
- Discussing and providing platforms for ‘lesson learns’ from across the globe on youth development, poverty reduction, democracy and promotion of human rights.
In addition, this conference will demonstrate its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and promoting of the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
Conference Theme
“promoting global culture of peace in the 21st Century”
The conference shall provide an interactive opportunity for participants from diverse background to discuss and evaluate:
- The state of African democracy
- Commitment of governments to develop practical and achievable youth policies,
- The role of women in sustainable peace, security and development
- How the international community responses to conflict and humanitarian situations
The conference will provide an opportunity for the presentation of scholarly papers on realizing global peace, youth development, democracy, protection of human rights and poverty reduction on especially how these ideas can be localized in our communities. The conference will also provide an international mandate for the conference organizers to petition governments and international agencies on matters of national and international concerns as may be discussed at the conference.
Sub-themes of the conference:
i. developing the future non-violence democratic leaders
ii. youth and the internet in peace building
iii. the role of women in ensuring sustainable culture of peace and democracy
iv. corporate and economic peace: what its means in the 21st century
v. internally generated fund raising strategies for NGOs, CBO, and Civic Societies
vi. achieving the MDG’s: the role of NGOs, CBO’s, Civic societies and the local communities
High leveled Panel Discussions on the state of conflict and security situations in Africa
Focus nations: Nigeria, Libya, Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt
Expected Participants
The conference shall draw practitioners, scholars, learners, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, security agencies, critical stakeholders, inter-governmental agencies and development partners, selected heads of educational institutions, community educators and leaders, NGOs leaders, traditional rulers, and leaders of faith based organizations as well as representatives of youth led organizations across the globe.
Call for Papers
Applications are welcome to submit abstracts for the presentation of papers at the International Peace Conference.
This conference will provide an opportunity for scholars and relevant stakeholders to present papers based on the theme of the conference. Abstracts must be submitted by May 30, 2012. Abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of reviewers and selected based on relevance to the theme, qualifications of the presenter and the potential to stimulate discussion.
At the conference, speakers will be limited to 30 minutes for their presentations which will include a question and answer session. Participants should prepare a 3-page paper, one and half spaced and succinctly summarize their key points during the presentation. Submitting an abstract implies a commitment to present the paper in English if the abstract is accepted. The Abstracts Subcommittee will attempt to accommodate as many presentations as possible, given time and space constraints.
Abstract Guidelines
The abstract must be in English
Abstracts must be in prose, other formats will not be accepted
The maximum length of the abstract is 500 words
A title for the presentation must be included at the top of the abstract.
Please include the name of the presenter, his/her affiliation and his/her position should be listed.
Submission Guidelines
The deadline for receipt of abstracts is May 30, 2012
Registered participants/applicants, who have paid or not yet paid their registration fees, may submit abstracts for consideration.
The presenter will be notified of acceptance or rejection within two weeks of the abstract being properly submitted
Abstracts can be submitted via email at conference@afcopb.org
The email address and phone number(s) (with country code) of the presenter must be included with all submissions
Full Papers
After your abstract have been selected, full papers prepared must be of 15‐20 pages, including illustrations/tables and references.
Interactive Presentations
An interactive presentation, for the purposes of this conference, is either a photographic presentation or a video‐graphic presentation. Some researchers are easily adapted to this style, especially in the area of case studies and role plays. If your presentation is in this category, please indicate it in your proposal and also indicate what accessory it may require.
Panel Sessions
Proposals for panel discussions must, in addition to satisfying the requirements for abstracts and paper presentations, include a 50 – 75 word rationale to appear in the conference programme, participant’s name and their background information. The rationale should explain the importance of the topic and why it is of interest to participants. The panel members you propose must agree in advance of submission to participate as panel presenters AND to register for the conference.
Please note that this conference has not established registration waivers.
Ethical Considerations
Authorship: Authors must give credit through references or notes to the original author of any idea or concept presented in the paper or proposal. This includes direct quotations and paraphrases.
Publication or presentation history: If material in your presentation has been published, presented, or accepted for publication or presentation, this must be disclosed in your paper or proposal. And note that depending on the decision of the reviewers, this may render your material ineligible.
Conference attendance: If your panel, paper, or interactive display presentation is accepted for this conference, you have a commitment to register for and attend the conference and perform your assigned role. All chairs and respondents also make this commitment.
If extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending, please find a substitute to perform your duties and notify the organizers through the contacts given in this Call for Papers (conference@afcopb.org) .
Thematic Areas include and not limited to the following:
- Peace Education:
Peace education as part of the curriculum of educational institutions and peace education in institutions and to the larger public
- Youth non‐violence and leadership
- Human Rights
- Agriculture and poverty reduction
- Building a culture of Peace and its sustainability
Includes the role of peace councils and civil society and non‐governmental organizations
-Cultural/Ethnic Dispute
Including chieftaincy issues and
succession, community and indigenous justice systems
Submission of Papers, Rights, and Agreement
By submitting papers, abstracts, author names, diagrams, and other data (the “submission”) to the Conference organizers for inclusion in the 2012 International Peace Conference (IPC)-Accra Ghana, authors understand that they become part of an agreement between the organizers of the conference, AFCOPB and stipulates as follows:
i. As part of the conference, this submission may be included and/or made available in an online conference website, printed conference documents, or other online or electronic media. After the conference, accepted submissions will be archived and distributed as a participating submission of the IPC.
ii. Authors grant certain rights and privileges to AFCOPB.
iii. Authors grant to AFCOPB, a nonexclusive, royalty‐free, transferable license to reproduce, distribute, create derivative works from, publicly perform, and publicly display the submission in all languages, in whole or in part, to end users through a direct online or re-license or sale of information products, including but not limited to all formats of magnetic digital, CD‐ROM, tape, online hosts, Internet services, and other electronic, laser, or optical media or other formats now known or hereafter discovered. AFCOPB shall have the right to register copyright to the submission and the accompanying abstract in their name as claimant as part of the conference proceedings or other medium in which such submission is included. An author submitting a paper to this conference retains the right to publish this work in a journal or other publication without limitation by AFCOPB or other affiliates.
Conference Sessions:
Day one-June 30, 2012
Session 1: Opening session
This session will feature opening remarks, goodwill messages from stakeholders, speeches from resource persons. There would also be a discussion section after presentation from speakers.
Day Two- July 1, 2012
Session 2: Youth Development;
This session will focus on the best practices of developing the youth. Especially how to harness their energies for sustainable national development. It would also look at the alternative ways of providing employment opportunities; sustainable and quality education for holistic youth development for future leadership.
Session 3: Eradicating extreme poverty;
This session will focus on alternative and practical measures to eradicating extreme poverty. It will also look at how agriculture can be a tool to conflict prevention and resolution; and extreme poverty reduction.
Session 4: Development of democracy;
This session will focus on addressing electoral violence and how to encourage positive involvement of the youth democratic processes. It would also look at how to strengthened our democratic institutions.
Session 5: Ensuring good health and Environmental Sustainability;
This session will focus on issues concerning environmental awareness and strategies for developing and implementing global partnerships.
Session 6: Promote Global Partnership for Development;
This session will focus on issues of peace building programs and initiatives across the globe and the introduction of peace education in schools, peace councils in communities.
Resource Persons
A team of resource persons from Office of formal President of Ghana, Canada, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria as well as selected scholars and officers from the MDG’s Ghana, UNDP, etc shall facilitate the sessions. Notable Millennium Development Ambassadors shall also share their experiences and challenges during the seminar/workshops. Participants shall be issued with a “Certificate of Participation”. The opening session shall feature presentation of special awards.
Participation Fees International Peace Conference
Participants are expected to register to attend with the sum of USD $220 which covers conference bags/souvenirs, tea break/lunch, certificate of participation, conference papers, participants stickers, pick up from the airport and back to airport on departure date, travel insurance, and local transportation.
Participation Fees
Participants are expected to register to attend with the sum of USD $150 which covers conference bags/souvenirs, tea break/lunch, certificate of participation, conference papers, participants stickers, pick up from the airport and back to airport on departure date, travel insurance, and local transportation.
Payment Options
You can pay by cheque credited the below account – thus if you are in Ghana.
African Centre for Peace Building
Or you can do international money transfer with the below details:
Acc. Name: African Centre for Peace Building
Acc. No. 6010222672
Swift Code: ZEBLHGAC see the other codes click here
Bank: Zenith Bank Ghana Ltd.
Online Payment with credit card, visa or paypal
Conference Date and Time
International Peace Conference
Date: June 30 – July 1, 2012
Venue: Great Hall, University of Ghana, Accra-Ghana
Time: 10.00 a.m. daily
Peace Education Capacity Building Workshop: see details click here
Date: July 5 – 6, 2012
Venue: University of Ghana Conference Center, Accra, Ghana
Time: 10.00 a.m. daily
Accommodation, Travel, Lodging and Feeding:
- All participants are to take care of thier own accomodation expenses. meaning the fees paid to the conference organizers does not cover accomodation expenses. Please to book for your accomodation clikc here for the categories
- All participants are to take care of their own travel expenses (in and out Ghana) but local travels are cover by the fees paid to the conference organizers
- Fees paid cover break fast and launch only
Apply Now
Online Application, click here ————- Download Application form click here
