The Canada Fund for Africa, CIDA, and Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication, hosted a conference on March 11 and 12, 2005, entitled "Africa Now: Untold Stories".
The conference weaved together young Africans and Canadians, media practitioners and development experts working on the continent to provide their perspectives on some of the most difficult challenges facing African youth today: HIV/AIDS, the environment, war-affected youth, and childhood development in refugee camps. The conference will also examine the role of the media in reporting on these issues.
The keynote speaker will be Lt.-Gen. (retired) Roméo Dallaire, Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University.
As a panelist, I bore witness to the stories told from Africa even though dismayed at the ugly picture that comes from that once brilliance part of the world, which have survived many ordeals, from the iron fisted and harsh treatment during slavery, to being engulfed by colonialism and neo-colonialism, and the upsurge of a flurry of wars, and health hazards, accentuated by poverty. What kind of brilliant stories do we have to tell? yet there is Africa's deep-rooted culture not yet shackled by acidic exploitation, there are the wonderful climate and greenery, and the welcoming smile of the sunshine. Amidst the many crises though, children have borne the brunt of casualties as either as child soldiers or victims of war. In the session, Children and War: The Way Back to Peace
(organized with Defence Children International, War Child Canada and Right to Play). The panel was moderated by Canada's celibrity radio producer Lucy van Oldenbarneveld,of CBC. I answered the following questions:
How and why are these children recruited?
What is the role of girls? How are rape and sexual violence used in conflict?
How can we reach these children to begin reintegrating them into their communities?
How can we help them play a role in working toward peace?
I had to pit my wit against other panelists like:
Dyan Mazurana, Professor, of Harvard University and Tufts University - and who created the program- Youth Voices: Uganda (a documentary)and a high profiled Canadian Allan Rock, Ambassador and permanent Representative of Canada
to the United Nations
I met colleague Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director, TakingITGlobal again, who happen to be a moderator this time around.
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