George Gachara, co-founder of the Picha Mtaani a streetexhibition initiative in Kenya, has been chosen as a recipient of the 2011Outstanding Leadership Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR)International Development Committee.
George was selected in recognition of his extraordinarycontribution to advancing conflict resolution internationally. The awards willbe presented on October 12, 2011 at ACR’s Annual Conference in San Diego,California (USA).
George has helped create spaces for young people to becomeagents of peace and reconciliation in their communities. In the aftermath ofthe 2007 presidential election in Kenya, waves of political and ethnic violenceswept the country, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people and theinternal displacement of 600,000.
“As a country we stood on the brink of collapse. We saw howbad things can get. For us, Peace cannot be just an interval between wars,which is why we’re driving a much needed cultural transformation,” He said.
He adds, “Addressing conflict is not merely aboutpacification of peoples, but addressing injustices, inequalities betweenpeople. Unless we can meet this challenge, new conflicts will flare up and wewill lose another generation to war, it is our duty to nurture a future andhope for young people suffering from unemployment and have little prospects ofimproving their lives.”
The International Development Committee of the ACR’sInternational Section each year honors exceptional work promoting conflictresolution in development projects around the world.
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