The opening remarks by Roy Ncube of Zimbabwe who is the Convener of Africa Coordination Group during the opening ceremony expressed a Jewish Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson quote,”If you see what needs to be repaired and how to repair it, then you have found a piece of the world that God has left for you to complete. But if you only see what is wrong and what is ugly in the world, then it is you yourself that needs repair”. This set a tone of responsibility for all participants to avoid finger pointing, but instead take action in restoring what we can in Africa. As had been said, failure is part of success.

IofC/MRA youth conference, held in Gweru from the 14 – 19 December,aimed to promote ‘foundations for change and development’. Young people came together from different parts of Zimbabwe to learn deeply about MRA, how to build their skills and strengthen friendships to work together for a just, peaceful and sustainable Zimbabwe.

It is with immense sadness that we announce that Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, former President of Initiatives of Change International, died on 20 September 2018.

Despite the fame and transformative work of CoP worldwide, and the idea having been conceived in Tanzania by a Tanzanian, this initiative has not been active in Tanzania. The first Peace Circle took place at DUCE – Dar es Salaam University College of Education in Dar es Salaam city.  It commenced on 31st August and ended on 2nd September 2018. The group consisted of 17 participants within the age bracket of 24 to 35 - some of them being recent university graduates and others already working.

Turning our scars to stars is how the participants of Creators of Peace Naledi became comfortable to share, some turning points included self-love and acceptance. The majority valued this experience, they expressed their wish that we come monthly to offer the Peace Circle to other community members in Naledi.  They felt that they will benefit from it so much and Naledi could start to change, in a positive way.

How fitting it was that the Creators of Peace team delivered the Peace Circles from the 13th to 15th June 2018 at the Naledi Recreation Centre to a group of nine men and eight women of Naledi Township in Soweto. This is because the country was in reflection of the 1976 Soweto youth uprising, the centenary celebration of the late Dr Nelson Mandela as well as the anti-apartheid activist known as mother of South Africa Albetina Sisulu. When the Creators of Peace was in Soweto, we contributed to planting seeds of healing for a stronger youth in the future.

Initiatives of Change (IofC), Nigeria, also known as Moral Re-Armament, in a bid to ensure strategic solutions towards making the Nigerian democracy real, invited active Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on Governance and Democracy, to it’s 2018 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Roundtable Dialogue. The event took place at the Initiatives of Change secretariat in Ikoyi, Lagos on 14th April 2018.  Fourteen registered NGOs attended.

Within the partnership between City of Johannesburg and the Creators of Peace program, we continued to reach women in different regions across Gauteng province. The Pioneer Skills Centre in Rosettenville welcomed us from the 30th May to 1st June 2018 to a group of fifteen women. Rosettenville is situated in the inner-city of Johannesburg, near the famous race course named Turffontein. The area used to be occupied mainly by the Portuguese community and later it became an area consisting of Africans, Coloured's and foreign nationalities. When we drove in we all picked up a scary feeling passing drug addicts and unemployed men who sat in the corners of dumping areas and dilapidated buildings. This area, with its challenges, changed from a classy rich man’s area to a poverty stricken area.

In South Africa, the Creators of Peace team’s vision is to ‘heal our nation through story sharing’. The mission is to embrace and nurture a continuing journey of inner healing in different communities to impact our nation positively and responsibly. From the 23rd to 25th May 2018, a group of eighteen young women from Diepkloof, spent the three days together at the Comprehensive Centre, east of Soweto, Johannesburg.

Having to face one's fears and given the opportunity to be authentic was fearful yet rewarding for participants. Through introspection, though painful, a new direction was found. Rudolph, one of the participants said, “For the first time I shared the hurt that I’ve been carrying for such a long time.  I never thought that I would and I even allowed myself to be vulnerable within. After this emotional awareness time I feel a burden is lifted off my shoulders.” Enjoy the full read of the Creators of Peace Circle with a group of seventeen men and women from the 16th to 18th June 2018.