Abuja, Nigeria, witnessed a historic gathering on Monday as peace advocates, civil society leaders, policymakers, and women changemakers came together to commemorate the 2025 International Day of Peace. The event, organized by the Engage Empower Educate Initiative (EEEI), carried the powerful theme “Act Now for a Peaceful World”, highlighting the urgent need for immediate and collective action to counter violence, hate speech, tribalism, and inequality across Africa.
Delivering his keynote address, Belema Meshack-Hart, the Executive Director of EEEI, reminded participants that peace cannot be accidental but intentional. He emphasized the importance of practical steps to sustain harmony at every level of society within schools, local communities, political systems, and international relations. Citing lessons from history, he compared today’s rising intolerance to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, where close to one million lives were lost in just 100 days due to silence, prejudice, and unchecked hate. Meshack-Hart praised Rwanda’s efforts in peace education and memorialization, stressing that remembering and teaching such lessons is key to preventing future conflicts.
One of the landmark moments of the commemoration was the official launch of the EEEI Peace Manual, a practical resource designed to guide communities, leaders, and educators in dialogue, conflict resolution, and grassroots peacebuilding. Meshack-Hart described the manual as a “roadmap to unity,” noting that it would be used in schools, training programs, and community forums to instill peace values and equip citizens with tools for early intervention in conflict situations.
Equally groundbreaking was the unveiling of the Women Peace Ambassadors Initiative, a bold 10-year program targeting the training of 10 million women across Africa to serve as frontline peacebuilders and conflict mediators. According to Meshack-Hart, women are often the first victims of violence but also possess unmatched resilience and influence in post-conflict healing and community reconciliation. By placing women at the heart of peace efforts, the initiative aims to empower them as leaders of dialogue, justice, and unity, positioning the project as Africa’s largest and most inclusive peacebuilding program to date.
In his address, the EEEI Director challenged Africans to see peace not as a passive state but as an action word. He urged citizens to reject tribalism, misinformation, and intolerance while choosing dialogue, truth, and unity. “Peace is choosing truth over lies, community over division, and action over silence,” he declared, calling on Nigerians and Africans at large to take ownership of building a peaceful continent.
The event 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, emphasized the vital role of women in driving sustainable change. He pointed out that although women are among the most affected by policy failures and conflict, they remain underrepresented in leadership and decision-making spaces. Dr. Okoror called on women to organize, act, and embrace their power as agents of peace, urging them to move from “agonizing to organizing” and to believe in their capacity to shape communities, businesses, and nations.
Panel discussions and breakout sessions echoed this message, reinforcing the rallying cry: “Act now. You can do it. You are women—and you can do it better.” The event closed with participants committing to transform the International Day of Peace from an annual commemoration into a continental movement for grassroots empowerment, female leadership, and collaborative peacebuilding.
The 2025 International Day of Peace in Abuja went beyond symbolic speeches it became a platform for launching Africa’s largest women peace initiative, unveiling vital educational tools, and inspiring a new generation of peace advocates. With bold commitments and renewed energy, stakeholders left Abuja with a clear mission: to act now and shape a peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable Africa for future generations.
(This story was originally published by ‘Act Now for Peace’: Abuja hosts 2025 International Day of Peace Commemoration – Standard Times NG, and we at Engage Empower Educate Initiative are proud to share it as the organizers of this historic event.)
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