Poetry as Peace Praxis: Narratives of Hope from the Sahel

In the Sahel region, communities face violent confl ict, climate stress, and youth unemployment. Amid these challenges, young people are fi nding strength in poetry, a simple yet powerful tool for peace, healing, and resilience. Sahel Scribes Poetry Club, with over 300 youth members across Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, has consistently demonstrated how creative expression can spark dialogue and build bridges across borders.

At Geneva Peace Week 2025, this youth-led initiative will host an online workshop, highlighting poetry as a form of peace praxis, an act of memory, resistance, and response to silence following violence. The session will feature a guest performance, a panel dialogue, four (4) breakout group writing sessions, and an open mic, creating space for participants to craft and share their own peace poems. It will also spotlight the role of indigenous languages and storytelling in sustaining peace.

Aligned with the GPW25 keyword “Narratives and Storytelling for Peace”, the workshop brings forward grassroots voices often absent from formal peacebuilding. It emphasizes inclusive, multilingual, and youth-driven narratives as essential to transforming fragile contexts.

By the end of the session, participants will co-create about 20 new peace poems, contribute to a digital anthology, and strengthen cross-border connections. This initiative is part of a growing movement to build a living archive of youth peace narratives, ensuring young voices shape the future of the Sahel and beyond.