Towards an Inclusive and Peaceful Society in Mozambique’ (TIPS) is an European Union funded project that aims to contribute to conflict prevention, crisis preparedness and response and peacebuilding through inclusive natural resource governance and management through strengthening the leadership and capacities of civil society actors as well as preventing and addressing natural resource based conflicts through multi-stakeholder dialogue and engagement in Mozambique.
The TIPS project team recently met with key leaders of the COREM council, including the head of the Islamic council of Mozambique, as well as leaders from the Hindu, Christian, and Bahai communities, to discuss the role of religious actors in supporting peaceful societies in Mozambique. The Council of Religions in Mozambique (COREM), the Mozambican chapter of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, is involved in the process of maintaining peace and national reconciliation, promoting equity and gender equality, and promoting a culture of ongoing interreligious dialogue where tolerance and peace prevail.
The COREM religious actors emphasized the peaceful and multi-religious history of Mozambique and the need to continue interreligious collaboration to support sustainable peace within the region. The President of the Council stressed that the ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado is not religiously motivated but rather is a result of deep rooted social and economic marginalization of the local communities, aggravated by the exploration of natural resources in the last decade.
Within the discussion was re-emphasized the COREM’s mission to Cabo Delgado province to support victims of the Extremism Violence to develop a clear strategy to contribute to responding to the conflict. The Network will continue to support this relevant mission in looking to the context and trends in Mozambique where the religious actor are called to play a role in supporting local citizens and contribute to the solution of the conflict in Cabo Delgado. TIPS project is directly contributing to address some of these challenges, and the new ID-PEACE project focusing on inter religious dialogue will further support and enhance this work.
About the TIPS Project
Towards an Inclusive and Peaceful Society in Mozambique’ (TIPS) is an European Union funded project that aims to contribute to conflict prevention, crisis preparedness and response and peacebuilding through inclusive natural resource governance and management through strengthening the leadership and capacities of civil society actors as well as preventing and addressing natural resource based conflicts through multi-stakeholder dialogue and engagement in Mozambique.
TIPS is supported by a consortium of partners comprised of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers (NRTP)/Finn Church Aid (FCA), Instituto para a Democracia Multipartidária (IMD), Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos (IESE) and in collaboration with project associates, The Council of Religions in Mozambique (COREM) and Faith Associates.
About the ISD-PEACE Project
Supported by US DRL, ID-PEACE (Interreligious Dialogue for Peace and Social Cohesion in Mozambique) project will contribute to reducing inter- and intra- communal tensions and related religious freedom abuses by strengthening social cohesion and religious tolerance in northern Mozambique. It will focus on building the capacity of local community leaders and civil society actors to promote active dialogue and engagement with local authorities, the project will guarantee effective local ownership, leading to sustainability and ultimately to improved development outcomes. The project will be implemented for a duration of 24 months in Northern Mozambique with a focus on the districts of Chiure (province of Cabo Delgado), Memba (Nampula) and Sanga (Niassa). The project is supported by MASC Foundation and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.