The Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, West Africa
About the Special Envoy
James Holmes is The Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, West Africa and Secretary General of International Communities Organisation, an NGO that focuses on peace and reconciliation work in Kosovo, Cameroon, Cyprus and Israel and Occupied Palestine.
He is also the chairman of the Northern Ireland Foundation which promotes a shared future in Northern Ireland, local community activism, and the exchange of international best practices.
Mr Holmes is also the president of Management International University (MIU), a university that offers accessible and high-quality diplomas anywhere in the world. The MIU West Africa Campus is home to over 1000 Cameroonian students and many other students of various nationalities already trained. We aim to develop the knowledge, critical thinking abilities and innovative ideas of our students in West Africa to help them positively impact their communities.
The Programme Director of ICO events delivered with the Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, West Africa is Charlie Grant.
Our Work
The Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation in West Africa understands the importance of cross-community collaboration and initiatives when it comes to peacebuilding.
Across West Africa we can see division in a large number of communities, where years of conflict have led to inequality and aggression that raise barriers of ethnicity, language and religion. In order to achieve reconciliation we must change the way that these communities see each other by addressing marginalisation and creating opportunities to build trust and work towards a common goal.
Minority groups, women and girls are often the most affected by conflict. Therefore, we focus our work on supporting these groups to build their capacity so that they may realise their true potential. Without the inclusion and participation of these vulnerable groups in peacebuilding, we will not be able to achieve a sustainable and true peace.
Through International Communities Organisation (ICO) and its partner organisations, we are able to focus on peacebuilding activities in order to:
- Design and address the root causes of inter-ethnic violent conflict in their communities,
- Build trust through dialogue within communities for conflict resolution, and to tackle inter-ethnic violence in all its forms and/or avoid escalation,
- Address socio-economic issues and inequality that are the main drivers of conflict
- Promote genuine local ownership of the project by employing local community and running the projects under their leadership to ensure sustainability and longevity of activities
- Empower people with the tools to develop their own answers to conflict Raise awareness and inaugurate the basis of a peace culture