45th Peace Day: Cameroon Prioritizes Grassroots Youth Peace Initiatives

In an expanded national mobilization marking the 45th International Day of Peace on September 21, 2026, Cameroon’s institutional leaders, civil society actors, and youth movements convened at the National Episcopal Conference Hall in Mvolye, Yaounde. To address an evolving spectrum of internal security, social, and digital challenges on the theme, "Investing in Peace for Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day."

Tangible, Grassroots Civic Action

Coordinated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education (MINJEC), the official commemorative proceedings brought together cabinet ministers, representatives of the United Nations system, faith-based leaders, and civil society organizations. To translate international peacebuilding frameworks into tangible, grassroots civic action.

The 2026 commemoration comes against a backdrop of complex humanitarian pressures, resource-based inter-community friction, and a troubling surge in social ills. Most notably online hate speech, Gender-Based Violence, femicide, and infanticide.

Delivering the solemn keynote address, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Mounouna Foutsou, underscored that durable stability cannot be achieved solely through high-level diplomatic protocols. But must be built incrementally within families, educational institutions, and digital spaces. He drew specific attention to the double-edged nature of modern communication technologies, warning against the unchecked spread of online manipulation, tribalism, and intolerance.

Digital Spheres

"The rise of information and communication technologies, amplified by the possibilities offered today by artificial intelligence, imposes an increased level of vigilance upon us," Minister Mounouna Foutsou stated. "Youth, who constitute both the primary target and key actors in these new spaces of expression, must be better equipped to distinguish information from manipulation, debate from hate speech, and freedom of expression from incitement to violence."

Undermining Local Communities

The Minister expanded his address to condemn domestic atrocities that undermine the fabric of local communities, calling for an urgent moral rearmament across homes and neighborhoods. "Beyond visible threats, another form of violence challenges us with particular severity: that which occurs within our own communities and families," he remarked. "There can be no lasting peace in a society where violence settles into homes, where women lose their lives, and human life loses its value," he warned.

Prevention, Protection, Community Vigilance

Addressing the gathering on behalf of the social protection sector, the Minister of Social Affairs, Pauline Irène Nguene, detailed a tripartite institutional framework centered on prevention, protection, and community vigilance. She urged citizens to abandon indifference and break the silence that often surrounds domestic abuse and child vulnerability.

"Peace is not simply the silence of arms; peace is a behavior, a choice built through the protection of human dignity, social justice, solidarity, and the inclusion of all citizens - especially the most vulnerable," Minister Nguene emphasized. "When a child is killed nearby by a neighbor, we must know how to denounce it. We must not remain silent, because the protection of life is a shared community responsibility," the Minister encouraged.

A key highlight of the commemoration was the presentation of the resolutions adopted during the preliminary Conference on Peace and Family, alongside the official Youth Declaration delivered by the President of the Cameroon National Youth Council (CNYC), Fadimatou Iyawa Ousmanou.

Speaking on behalf of youth executives operating across Cameroon’s 360 subdivisions, 58 divisions, 10 regions, and the diaspora, CNYC President Fadimatou Iyawa Ousmanou recalled the nationwide campaign launched on September 10, 2026 against social scourges, femicide, and digital radicalization. She subsequently led the assembly in an interactive pledge. Where participants stood to declare a collective "No" to drugs, alcohol in schools, hate speech, and violent extremism. While affirming a collective "Yes" to education, discipline, solidarity, and social protection.

Complementing the youth declaration, civil society delegates presented a strategic five-point resolution ...