Abuja came alive on Monday as stakeholders, peace advocates, civil society leaders, and women changemakers gathered to commemorate the 2025 International Day of Peace under the theme “Act Now for a Peaceful World.” The landmark event, convened by the Engage Empower Educate Initiative (EEEI), served as a rallying call for urgent and coordinated action against violence, hate, disinformation, and inequality across Africa, while also unveiling bold initiatives designed to strengthen peacebuilding efforts for generations to come.
Delivering the keynote address, Belema Meshack-Hart, Executive Director of EEEI, warned that peace is fragile and cannot be taken for granted. He emphasized the urgent need for deliberate action at every level of society, from schools and communities to governance structures. “We live in a time where peace is under threat, but we must act now individually and collectively to change the narrative,” he said.
Meshack-Hart drew powerful parallels between today’s rising intolerance and the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which nearly a million lives were lost in just 100 days. He praised Rwanda’s ongoing reconciliation efforts and the Kigali Genocide Memorial as global symbols of truth-telling, healing, and prevention. Stressing that peace requires deliberate effort, he noted: “Peace is not accidental it is intentional. It begins with remembering, teaching, and choosing a different path.”
One of the most significant highlights of the commemoration was the launch of the EEEI Peace Manual, a comprehensive toolkit offering practical strategies for dialogue, conflict resolution, and peaceful coexistence. The manual is designed for use in schools, community forums, and leadership spaces, with the goal of embedding peace education and conflict resolution skills at the grassroots level across Africa.
Meshack-Hart also unveiled the ambitious Women Peace Ambassadors Initiative, a bold program aimed at training 10 million women peace ambassadors across Africa within the next decade. He described women as both the first victims of conflict and the strongest voices for peace, calling for their leadership to be placed at the center of reconciliation, dialogue, and nation-building. “Peace is choosing truth over lies, community over division, and action over silence,” he declared, urging Africans to reject tribalism, disinformation, and intolerance while embracing unity and diversity.
The commemoration also featured a high-level summit on security and governance where Dr. David Okoror, Chief Security and Governance Strategist at the International Centre for Security and Governance Studies, called on women to step boldly into leadership roles and become drivers of sustainable change. He underscored that women, because of their numbers, resilience, and capacity to influence, hold the power to prevent conflict and shape societies more inclusively.
The 2025 International Day of Peace in Abuja, organized by EEEI, thus stood not only as a symbolic observance but as a transformative platform to launch practical tools and far-reaching initiatives. With the Peace Manual and Women Peace Ambassadors Initiative now in motion, the event marked a decisive step in reimagining peacebuilding across Africa and empowering communities to act today for a more peaceful tomorrow.
(This report was originally published by The Guardian Nigeria, and we at Engage Empower Educate Initiative are proud to share it as the organizers of this historic event.)
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