Pro-PAZ

The Pro-Paz project is realized in the framework of the current Peace and National Reconciliation process in Mozambique, which began with the Maputo Agreement of August 6, 2019. This was the third peace agreement after the 1992 and 2014 agreements, and an historic, crucial moment for the end of hostilities between FRELIMO (Liberation Front of Mozambique) and RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance).

The signing of peace agreements must be followed by concrete actions to build lasting peace and support national reconciliation. Mistrust and internal divisions at community level must be replaced by peaceful coexistence. It is necessary to consider the impact of violence on communities, to contribute to the processes of individual and collective elaboration of the traumas experienced. This requires interventions at both national and community levels, with the relevant participation of civil society, religious organizations and the communities themselves affected by the conflicts.

ProPaz is a project implemented by CISP in partnership with 3 Mozambican Organizations: IMD – Institute for Multiparty Democracy, key actor of civil society within the peace and reconciliation process, IVERCA, committed for years in the use of art and culture for the promotion of inclusive citizenship, and LeMuSiCa, grassroots organization made up of women, active in the fight against gender-based violence and the promotion of women’s and children’s rights.

The ProPaz project has three key components: 

1. Promotion of peace, tolerance and social cohesion through art and culture. The project works both at national and community level, supporting and disseminating cultural and artistic productions for peace and actions aimed at rebuilding an adequate level of trust between individuals and groups who have remained in positions of hostility for a long time. Artistic and cultural productions, artistic residencies, music, documentaries, roadshows, festivals, are an opportunity to spread messages of peace and reconciliation, reflect on the conflict and its consequences and on the concrete possibilities of building a peaceful society.
2. Creation of spaces for dialogue and safe and inclusive places. The project works with civil society organizations to implement conflict prevention and transformation initiatives, Art for Social Change activities, Community-led Dialogues, favoring communities in the central area of ​​the country that welcome ex-combatants, men and women. The project also supports vulnerable women, including ex-combatants, in paths of social and economic emancipation and the prevention and fight against gender-based violence.
3. Support to Civil Society Organizations, so that they may have a more active and participatory role in the peace process. The project supports existing civil society organizations working on the theme of peace and reconciliation, facilitates meetings, networking and exchanges. The project also promotes the formation of associations that bring together ex-combatants and host communities with the aim of working together to build a sustainable and lasting peace.

Contribute to the consolidation of Peace in Mozambique, promoting a National Reconciliation initiative based on cultural activities and the active participation of civil society, the most vulnerable groups and the communities most affected by the conflict.

• Realize a program of cultural and artistic initiatives at national and provincial level to promote dialogue, social inclusion, peace and national reconciliation. 
• Carry out cultural, artistic and sporting initiatives in 20 schools in the country, to educate students in tolerance and peaceful coexistence. 
• Promote civil society initiatives, as spaces to promote dialogue and conflict prevention and transformation activities. 
• Promote Community-led Dialogue groups to challenge and transform harmful Social Norms related to inequality and gender-based violence (GBV). 
• Build and strengthen safe spaces where girls and women can meet, reflect, question gender roles related to violence and war and be supported in psychosocial and economic empowerment processes. 
• Create, register and form at least 4 associations in the communities hosting ex-combatants and war victims, with the aim of facilitating their rapid integration.
• Strengthen 5 civil society platforms and 60 civil society organizations in conflict management, peace building, violence prevention and participation in the peace and reconciliation process at national and local level. 
• Establish a National Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, as an independent platform for dialogue and action, bringing together all relevant stakeholders.

1. Establish a coordinated approach and a common methodology for a national reconciliation initiative, to be implemented through cultural and sports activities.
2. Create safe and inclusive spaces for community dialogue on reconciliation.
3. Support civil society organizations and platforms active in the field of peace to better represent their members and engage in conflict prevention and transformation activities.