peace joureny

“Stop Civil war at home Africa In the 21st century”

“ETHIO-AFRICA MILLENNIUM PEACE JOURNEY Groups”

Tele. 09-11-935524, 09-11-685268, 09-11-672486 P.O. Box: 2552code1250 E mail: z7e8e5@yahoo.com, lifeadane@yahoo.com

We are young dedicated African professionals and students, who value our continent, culture, and indigenous ways of life. As we have just entered the new Ethiopian Millennium, an African occasion, we will use this great opportunity to promote Ethiopia and Africa in general while sharing our message of African peace and unity on an unprecedented road journey to 22 African countries.
The Peace Journey is inspired by the historic journey of Africa. While Africa began with great centers of art, science, and commerce our development was disturbed by the tragic Trans Atlantic slave trade that robbed us of millions brothers and sisters now the African diasporas. Then came colonialism and subjugation, which contributed to present day civil war. Ethiopia became a beacon of hope as the only African country to evade foreign rule but we too suffered foreign invasion including brain drain, economic enslavement and now identity crises. As we help to heal Africa by promotion of peace and solidarity amongst Africans at home and abroad and finally part of a journey will conclude one day in the unification of Africa, an Africa filled with prosperity, not blood shed.

Ethiopia is a historic leader in the unification of Africa and played a major role in establishing the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union. So it is only fitting for us a group of Ethiopian with youth from five regions of Africa to carry the baton of peace on a journey of hope for our beloved motherland and her peoples. Though the media promotes Ethiopia with images of famine, HIV/AIDS and war, totally disregarding thousands years of contributions to Africa and the world, we intend to make a positive difference. We shall help to change the problem of not only how the world sees Ethiopia, but more importantly how Ethiopia and Africa views herself.

The peace journey hopes to achieve several goals including the establishment of common commemoration day all over Africa for all of our ancestors who were sold during the tragic Trans Atlantic slave trade. On that commemoration day we want to raise a black flag with a red X on it so high up in the entire of Africa. The black stands for the skin color of enslaved Africans; while the red X implies our motto “stop civil war at mama Africa” and it will contribute to fasten the unification of the African people. Create African solidarity and pride amongst the youth through Art, panel discussion and cultural exchanges, Promote unity by rejecting civil war, enough is enough peace and unification towards the United States of Africa at the grass root youth movement.

There are many opportunities for your organization to engage in the peace journey through country or regions, private or government, CSO and NGOs.

Therefore, we need your support and ownership to help make the peace journey successful. We anticipate your positive response as soon as possible in order for us to reap the mutual benefit of this unique project.

1. Background
Africa is the largest in area coverage next to Asia. More than 2000 Languages are spoken in the continent. Africa is the cradle of human kind, the first cases of domestication of plants for agricultural and ironworking had been introduced in Africa.

Africa has amazing economic and development potential, diverse cultures and rich historical heritage, with plenty of natural resources. Due largely to the effects of the slave trade, colonialism, the international trade regime and geopolitics, Africa remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent.

Africa is unique in various extra ordinary ways; prominent civilizations at different times include Carthage, the Kingdom of Aksum, and the Nubian kingdoms, the empires of the Sahel (Kanem-Bornu, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai), Great Zimbabwe, and the Kong

Africa has great, long and self fulfill history and tradition. Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities characterized by different sorts of political organization and rule. Today, Africa contains 53 independent and sovereign countries, which mostly still have the borders drawn during the era of European colonialism.

We Africans have our own indigenous language, script, art examples of art from Africa are 75,000 year old beads made from Nassarius shells that were found in Blombos Cave. The Great Pyramid of Gaza in Egypt was the world's tallest structure for 4,000 years until the completion of Lincoln Cathedral around 1300. The Ethiopian complex of monolithic churches in Lalibela, of which the Church of St. George is representative, is regarded as another marvel of engineering. African music and dance is one of the most creative art forms including drums (most widely used), bells, musical bow, lute, flute, and trumpet.

We Africans have our own numbers, orthography (heliographic, Fidel), calendar (Ethiopian calendar (Millennium).
Indigenous church the founding of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is traditionally dated to the mid-first century, while the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church officially date from the fourth century. These are thus some of the first established Christian churches in the world; examples of African Jews are the Beta Israel, Lemba peoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda.

Also (the first hajji of Muslim followers was held in Africa and also Africa is a home for other indigenous religions. We really are very delighted to introduce our uniqueness to the world.

Peace journey includes young men and women professionals educated abroad and here. The individual participants come from the five regions of Africa (east, west, middle, north and south). We want to take a part for African renaissance because it is also up to us: the youth to save the continent from destruction and work towards saving the next generation.

2. Project Description
2.1. Objective
2.1.1. Overall Objective
• To commemorate and reflect what our past experience was, for better understanding of the future and seeing a brighter tomorrow.
2.1.2. Specific objective
• To strengthen the young peoples social commitment and support for the development of Africa peacefully by rejecting civil war.
• To enable the African youth at home and abroad to aspire for the development of the continent by being active participant towards the United States of Africa.
• To recognize the African Diaspora as the citizen of Africa and encourage them to repatriate back to mama Africa.

2.2. Missions
• To promote African identity and pride by bringing African youth together underneath one umbrella through inter cultural exchange and linkage.
• To create understanding and spread awareness among African youth on changing our negative image, on not only how the world sees us but more importantly how we see ourselves.
• To develop the culture of youth initiative at the grass root level by working co-operatively in mutual respect and build responsible youth towards African solidarity. By setting an example of promoting peace through rejecting civil strife and civil war via peace journey.
• To encourage the young women of Africa participate actively, equally and effectively at all levels of social, economic, political, and cultural endeavors by being living example since five of the participants are women.

2.3. Vision
• To see the United States of Africa through self-conscious, independent, assertive, and empowered young people.
2.4. Goal
• To establish one common commemoration day in the entire Africa for all of our ancestors who were sold during the tragic Trans Atlantic slave trade the. Remembrance day will be commemorated annually.
• To create social integration and unification among the Africa people through grass root movement. By preaching and promoting peace and prosperity to eliminate civil war and civil strive. “We don’t want any more blood shade in Africa”.
• To enable the youth be visionaries, to live for the next generation. Fundamentally by having self consciousness and self worth.

3. Implementation
3.1. Participants
The proposed project will be managed by men and women young Africans, who are committed to travel and promote peace, African identity and solidarity. We are dedicated young professionals and students inspired by indigenous, historical and meaningful human values and traditional leadership practices.

3.3. Support Needed
• Strong Support of the funding and partner organizations
• Dedication of Project managers, partners and fund Givers
• Confidence on the Project to be carried out by participants and partners of the project

3.4. Activities
• Promoting peace, African identity and pride through youth cultural exchange and different events to contribute towards the United States of Africa.
• Traveling, promoting and preaching African identity and dignity around the five regions of Africa.
• We will distribute different cultural and historical books, T-shirts, hats, business directories, cultural and historical gifts for the representatives and young peoples of the continent, donate some memorial gifts to different orphanage centers and women’s Associations.
• Creating community based youth focal points in different countries of Africa to work jointly (net working).
• Prepare an event after we come back to Ethiopia, to portray our journey and share what we have learned from our brothers and sisters.
• We will organize panel discussions and art exhibitions that are relevant to the peace journey.

3.4. Methodology
• We are promoting peace, African identity and unity by traveling to 22 African countries by car. The reason we are traveling by car is basically to start the movement at the grass root level and to enhance the participation of the youth.
• The common commemoration day and the black flag with a red X will promote advocacy and social mobilization for the Unification of Africa.

3.7. Expected result
• Create understanding regarding our pride, historical significance, cultural heritage and great potential for future prosperity in Africa.
• African young people will learn and stand strong to contribute their part for the prosperity and development of Africa.
• Many more tourists, intellectual researchers and investors will come to Ethiopia in particular and Africa in general.
• The African Diaspora will be encouraged to repatriate and come back to their mother land.