Evelyn is a 29 year old legal practitioner from Nigeria, currently on track to receive a Masters degree from the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands.
“I am very interested in human rights, gender and conflict so I volunteered as a pro bono legal officer with the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria. Being born in times of conflict in the 1990's and having experienced the impact of war, I developed an interest in understanding violence and how it can be transformed to build sustainable peace. “
Evelyn's personal and professional background motivated her to participate in the ‘Youth Peace and Security’ Virtual Exchange course (January, 2020). She met weekly with an online group for a discussion, guided by trained facilitators. Her fellow group members came from different countries and they explored together core concepts of conflict and peace and exchanged their own personal experiences.
We asked Evelyn how she feels about her participation looking back:
“This experience broadened my thinking on peace building and conflict transformation processes. I learnt by exchanging ideas with peers and having the opportunity to interact with people across the world".
"The course gave me the opportunity to create new connections and relationships. Indeed there is hope knowing that together we can take steps to make our world better and shine the light for others. I learnt a lot from my group mates, our diversity and the way things are handled in our different countries.”
"I had many best moments but the one that stood out most was the discussion on the role of youth in peace building. It was interesting to note that this is our future, it's about us, which makes it vital for us to take active steps."
"We must not forget about our humanity, we should learn to treat each other better and find common grounds to resolve issues amicably. We must start with ourselves to take responsibility and be accountable with our actions towards each other" Evelyn concludes.
