The violent conflict in Cameroon's North-West and South-West regions, which has been ongoing since 2016, manifests the divisions between Cameroon's two major linguistic communities: the Anglophones and the Francophones. Since Cameroon's independence, this division has prevailed, sometimes latently, other times openly.
As a result of the violent conflict, people living in these regions have been forced to move. Yaoundé is one of the host cities for the displaced and home to Cameroon's two largest universities. Displaced students have increased the proportion of English-speaking students in these universities, increasing the risk of conflict between these two large communities.
Most students grew up with their identities as “Francophones” or “Anglophones” constantly being reinforced by their parents. A change in narrative is needed to change the perspectives of young Cameroonian leaders about the vision of the future of Cameroon.
Through co-organising various trustbuilding activities, dialogue skills are developed to prepare students for preventing future conflict or handling it constructively. Trustbuilding ambassadors are trained and appointed to support the trustbuilding work on their respective campuses.
Sport, trustbuilding cafes and various outreach activities are also implemented at the universities to build trust between the Anglophone and Francophone students.
Herman Fabrice Beyene
Project Manager and President of IofC Cameroon Council
Marienne Makoudem Tene
Project Coordinator and Public Relations
Gilbert Palemagna
Accountant and Executive Secretariat
Marie-Claire Bikia
Facilitator and Assistant Executive Secretariat
Adalbert Otou Nguini
Translation and interpretation and counsellor
Valère Olinga
Fundraising and Public Relations
Simon Magloire Ntonga
Communications
