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Peacebuilding Practice Group
The importance of sustainable peacebuilding strategies cannot be underestimated in a
post-conflict country such as Liberia. Liberia has had its share of election violence,
campus violence and vandalism, protests and riots, police-civilian tensions, workers
strike, and many other situations that threaten peace and stability and can easily lead to
much broader conflict. It is crucial that any peacebuilding strategy includes the ability to
foresee and predict potential problems before they start, include early warning
capabilities, and mitigation techniques.
One of the biggest threats to Liberia’s peace is the level of high unemployment and lack
of opportunities amongst disadvantaged youth, who are easily prone to coercion to
engage in violence. This also leads directly to the potential for increased tensions
between communities and law enforcement. Therefore, the Foundation seeks to
develop two programs aimed at sustaining long term peace. The Foundation will focus
and develop the following:
Community-based Youth Dialogues through local Groups—
The Foundation will target specific resources for supporting positive youth action at the community level, through block groups, youth groups and other local stakeholders. In coordination with local implementing partners, the Foundation will develop a robust program that keeps youth in Communities engaged and purposeful about having positive impacts in their respective communities. The Foundation will select one community in each county (15 Communities) and will work with partners and stakeholders to design and develop strategies at the community level that contributes to peacebuilding.
Policing for Peace Initiative—
There is sufficient research demonstrating that effective
community-based policing strategies are effective, especially in preventing crimes and
violence, and maintaining the peace. Liberia is a small country where the possibility of
violence at the community level can easily spread and engulf more communities and
possibly the country. A few years ago, a misunderstanding between Christian and
Muslim youths in the Jacob town community, led to a nationwide curfew and stringent
law enforcement measures aimed at ending riots, violence, and vandalism. The idea
behind The Policing for Peace Initiative is to develop preventive measures in
partnership with law enforcement, the security sector, community groups and other
stakeholders to encourage increased police presence and involvement in communities.
The Foundation will mobilize resources to support the implementation of this initiative,
as a standing Peacebuilding Program.
Global Partners Sustainable Peacebuilding Roundtable (Continuing Engagement with Major Regional and International Partners):
As a course of business, the
Foundation will engage with global entities active in Peacebuilding Initiatives in Liberia
and the sub-region, including the UN Agencies, ECOWAS, the Diplomatic Corps and
other international stakeholders. The Foundation will periodically convene roundtables
to discuss critical issues as it relates to long term sustainable peace.
WHAT WE DO – Focus Areas
The Sawyer Foundation will direct its resources, experience, and capacity to the following
thematic areas:
Democratic Governance:
The AMOS CLAUDIUS SAWYER Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting democratic governance in Liberia. The foundation was named after Amos Claudius Sawyer, a prominent Liberian politician and scholar who served as the interim President of Liberia during the early 1990s. The foundation seeks to advance the ideals of good governance, transparency, and accountability by promoting political education, civic engagement, and leadership development. Through its various programs and initiatives, the foundation aims to strengthen democratic institutions, foster civic participation, and promote sustainable development in Liberia. The foundation’s work is crucial in promoting the values of democracy and promoting the well-being of Liberian citizens.
Rule of Law:
The AMOS CLAUDIUS SAWYER Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting democratic governance in Liberia. The foundation was named after Amos Claudius Sawyer, a prominent Liberian politician and scholar who served as the interim President of Liberia during the early 1990s. The foundation seeks to advance the ideals of good governance, transparency, and accountability by promoting political education, civic engagement, and leadership development. Through its various programs and initiatives, the foundation aims to strengthen democratic institutions, foster civic participation, and promote sustainable development in Liberia. The foundation’s work is crucial in promoting the values of democracy and promoting the well-being of Liberian citizens.
Peace building:
The AMOS CLAUDIUS SAWYER Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting democratic governance in Liberia. The foundation was named after Amos Claudius Sawyer, a prominent Liberian politician and scholar who served as the interim President of Liberia during the early 1990s. The foundation seeks to advance the ideals of good governance, transparency, and accountability by promoting political education, civic engagement, and leadership development. Through its various programs and initiatives, the foundation aims to strengthen democratic institutions, foster civic participation, and promote sustainable development in Liberia. The foundation’s work is crucial in promoting the values of democracy and promoting the well-being of Liberian citizens.
HOW WE DO IT - The “REAL” Approach
Research & Reflect:
The Foundation will host an inhouse think tank. The think tank will be established to conduct research to generate evidence through primary data and knowledge on critical governance issues in its immediate constituency (being Liberia) at a first instance, West Africa and Africa. This will be aimed at addressing the massive knowledge gap in policy making in Liberia (and the continent as a whole) as well as ensuring that all of the Foundation’s priorities, programmes, projects and engagements are informed by evidence regarding the instance of pertinence. We will analyze governance and public policy issues with aspirations of policy relevance and academic excellence. To this end, the Foundation will partner with leading organizations and institutions (universities, research 3 institutions, other think tanks, development agencies, etc.) The Foundation’s research will be informed by questions on the analytical and normative issues that practitioners in governance and public policy face. Building bridges between academia, political leaders, business, and civil society requires effective communication.
Engage & Empower:
We use the insights of our research and policy advice to foster public debate on key issues
in governance and public policy, as well as feed the questions raised in policy debates and
dialogues back into our research and advisory work. In addition, the foundation will bring
people together to exchange ideas and develop common initiatives. Through debate and
dialogue, we aim to support and assemble social and political entrepreneurs, build
strategic communities and nurture thought leadership, applied research at both national
and regional levels. Effective and accountable governance requires individuals who are
creative, thoughtful and unafraid to work across issues and boundaries.
Working separately or in collaboration with governmental, non-governmental, bilateral,
multilateral, political, non-political and other entities, the Foundation will vigorously
pursue avenues for the establishment of strategic partnerships and the strengthening of
existing ones to develop practical operating frameworks for successfully carrying out the
multiple programmes, projects and other activities aimed at promoting the principles of
Good Governance, Local/National/Regional/Continental Peace, and Security across all
landscapes;
How we work:
The “AMOS CLAUDIUS SAWYER FOUNDATION LIBERIA” referenced by way of trade name
as the SAWYER FOUNDATION LIBERIA is an independent and non-partisan public policy
and governance Foundation incorporated in honor of Dr. Amos Sawyer, the former
president oof the Republic of Liberia. The overall objective of the foundation is to honor
the legacy of Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer by creating and establishing a non-profit
organization for the purpose of addressing the multiple issues of Democratic
Governance, Rule of Law and Peace building to address local, national, and geo-political
issues in the body polity and general governance structure of Liberia and other societies
where and when legally applicable.
John Doe
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John Doe
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John Doe
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