Activist of the day: Meet young peace activist El Hadj Djitteye from Mali
- By Peacemaker360.com
- Dec 20, 2016
- 4 min read
Give a little background about you and your journey as a peace activist: when did it begin and how?
I was born and raised in the fabled desert city of Timbuktu in Mali, located in the West Africa region. On the 1st April 2012, my city was occupied by Toureg separatists and Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida in the Arabic peninsula. As an intellectual and descendant of the settlers of Timbuktu, I decided with friends in the US to launch an online platform on 1st of April 2012 in the fire of war called: Timbuktu land of peace and Culture. (http://timbuktu-lopac.tumblr.com/)
I became an activist of peace by using the cultural heritage of Timbuktu as a catalyst for lasting peace, countering violent extremism online. I spent the entire occupation of Timbuktu writing about the suffering of my people and peace building. Later on, we youth leaders of Timbuktu started an organization called Timbuktu Land of Peace and Culture, which focuses on social cohesion, national reconciliation ,and counters violent extremism by organizing cultural activities like conferences , sensitization on CVE and peace building.
What are your key achievements and issues you are responding to in relation to your activism work? ( e.g.: Trauma healing, Human trafficking, women empowerment, etc.)
Over the last 5 years our organization and my online news publishing company has had the privilege of working with multiple peace building organizations to prompt the concept of using culture as a catalyst for promoting peace and countering violent extremism. I live in a city which is landlocked, arid, and poor but a power house when it comes to art , architecture and literature. It has a rich cultural heritage that I research and use it a as catalyst to counter hate and violence in my society and across the globe. I write this work in English and French. I work with international organizations like the Timbuktu Renaissance Initiative (http://www.timbukturenaissance.org/) which is a Malian American initiative which focuses on using culture to counter violent extremism and make lasting peace in the region and bring development opportunities. I also work with the Caravan to Class initiative (http://www.caravantoclass.org/) which focuses on education and the empowerment of young girl education in nomad villages of Timbuktu. Since 2015, I have also worked with the well-known Festival du Desert (desert festival) to organize the cultural caravan for peace for promoting peace and to give hope to Malian refugees in exile. They hope to come back to their homeland. Most importantly, I hope to bring my communities together to speak the same language, which is the language of peace and tolerance of acceptance without distinction of race, religious belief and ethnic group. There is still so much that we want to do, but we have been blessed to be able to impact youth all over the globe through the internet and social media. I was blessed to be selected to attend from the 28 to 30 November 2016 the regional youth summit on countering violent extremism organized by the Search for Common Ground organization in Maiduguri, Nigeria. I worked with an amazing team of people to organize and plan this event where young leaders from over 5 regions of the Sahel came to Nigeria to talk about how we can build global peace and counter violent extremism.
What keeps you going and give you inspiration in your work? What gives you hope?
To be honest, I have dreamed about positive change and making a real impact in the life of communities since my childhood. That is my greatest inspiration. I am an optimistic. In the epic of my activism, I have also met people who are working in their own communities to bring about peace and positive change. Knowing the suffering of my people in the fire of war gives me inspiration to be their voice and write about their sufferings which can bring sustainable opportunities to support them. What gives me hope? It’s this generation of the digital age. There are young leaders all over the world that are passionately working to make positive change and make the world a better place to live for the coming generation. I am so proud to be a youth activist.
What would you consider to be the most difficult period of your activism journey and what lesson(s) did you get from that experience?
The most difficult period of my activism journey was in its early beginning, in 2012, during the occupation of Timbuktu. At that time, access to internet coverage was not easy and was risky because the city was under occupation. I have learned lessons and got the experience to never give up the work while people are suffering because you can make the difference with your commitment, courage, hard work and hope.
How does your organization promote inclusive participation of youth (male and female) in the fight against violent extremism?
Well the Timbuktu Land of Peace and Culture Organization promotes inclusive participation of youth, male and female, by empowering them first all by organizing capacity building training sessions in civic leadership, personal development and how to be peace makers and counter violent extremism. We are currently working on the Timbuktu Youth Festival for Peace in Timbuktu. During this festival, we have a conference on the role of youth on countering violent extremism and promoting peace. This festival will gather youth from all ethnic groups living in the region of Timbuktu.
What word of encouragement would you give to women activists fighting rejection because of challenging patriarchy?
A community that promotes tolerance and inclusivity, and reflects norms of gender equality, is stronger, because when a woman is empowered the entire nation is empowered. Women activists must never give up fighting for their rights and their full potential.
How can people interested to connect you reach you?
Email : elhadjdjitteye@gmail.com Blog and website : 1 : http://voicesofpeace.wixsite.com/timbuktu 2 : http://timbuktu-lopac.tumblr.com/ linkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=nav_responsive_tab_home Twitter : @ElHadjDjitteye
PEACEMAKER 360 is an online platform that profiles peace activists and shares their stories with three specific goals: Inspire, Connect and Amplify efforts of global peace activism. http://www.peacemaker360.com
