NETWORKING/PARTNERSHIP

The organization has good working relationship with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Nigeria, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos; Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Movement (JPRM), TEKAN Peace Desk, APURIMAC, Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management and Centre for Conflict Management and Peace Studies of the University of Jos. This goes to demonstrate CEPAN’s networking capacity for and the confidence and integrity it has earned over time among social development practitioners in Plateau state and beyond. CEPAN believes that no one organization can work alone and make greater import in the society. Therefore, the organization has always networked, partnered and collaborated with individuals, groups and other organizations with similar objectives for the purpose of attaining sustainable peace and development in the communities. In other words, the organization has good working experience of collaborating, partnering or networking with both local and international organizations that are passionate about social development – promotion of peace, development and democracy in Nigeria. Under the first and second phases of the strategic peace programme in plateau state, CEPAN established a 30-member interfaith peace teams in 9 selected local governments in the state. These peace teams were trained in the rudiments of conflict transformation, peacebuilding and conflict early warning and early response (EWER) aimed at building their capacity to effectively promote and foster peaceful coexistence, understanding and respect for values. The empowerment of these community members in conflict management was a deliberate action to make communities participate and own the project.

   A key responsibility of the peace teams is conflict monitoring in their various communities and their involvement in response strategies locally and with the authorities at the community level such as the police, community/religious leaders. The teams have also identified key stakeholders in their localities with whom they have continued to partner towards the promotion of peace.To ensure the sustainability of these structures, the teams have been made to own the project and work as volunteers. The teams do not rely on CEPAN for financial support. They raise funds amongst themselves and from local stakeholders to implement their community peace initiatives. The Community Peace Teams are functional and have been existing since 2007.