A conflict prevention strategy for Africa

The challenge

A European government’s Foreign Office wanted to inform its cross-ministerial strategy for a Southern- African country with locally-generated ideas on sustainable development, conflict prevention and reconciliation, looking out to 2030.

But it lacked the local capacity and network to run such a project on short notice while ensuring participation by a wide-range of local political, civil society and religious stakeholders.

Our approach

We used conflict analysis, interviews and outreach, with help from a local partner as the basis for a community-centred workshop that explored the future and created a vision for the country.

A subsequent Foreign Office strategy workshop enabled:

• risks and opportunities to be addressed by the foreign office, defence and development departments
• a new focus that creates a more coherent future-focused strategy

The outcome

• The 5-month process framed what will happen in the African country out to 2030 at embassy and capital level
• It built country strategy coherence across ministries and themes
• The process highlighted the importance of framing cyclone reconstruction efforts within a desired 2030 vision
• Participants subsequently applied the cross-community futures dialogue approach used in the country workshop in their own sectors, regions and communities