In the Kabadougou and Folon regions in the district of Denguélé, since 2010, as the dry season approaches and the seasonal migration of livestock begins, two sorts of conflicts also increase: conflicts between farmers and cattle herders and land disputes between communities. Both of these represent a real threat to peace and social cohesion.



So in order to give the different communities the opportunity for they themselves to find local solutions to these conflicts in an effort to

anticipate and reduce their intensity, the deputy prefect of Odienné, in collaboration with the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire, on Thursday, 28 November 2013, initiated a workshop to strengthen the capacity of local leaders in the prevention and management of conflict.



The aim of the workshop was to increase the knowledge of youth leaders and village administrative secretaries in conflict resolution and management because of their influence within their respective areas of work, their actions on the ground and their role in resolving disagreements. The workshop also aimed to set up a monitoring committee for conflict resolution in each village.



Speaking at the workshop, the representative of UNOCI's Civil Affairs Section, Ouattara Peyogori, stressed the important role of monitoring committees. He also highlighted the need for members of these committees to have people's confidence which would in turn lead them to produce better results in their work.

One of the participants, Doumbia Yaya, expressed his joy at having taken part in the training: "{This workshop will allow us to take the bull by the horns. All the information which we have been given means that we can prevent acts of vengence during this reconciliation period}," he said.



At the end of the training session, the deputy prefect of Odienné, Sepy Yesso, passed this message onto participants : "{As you leave this training you should now consider yourselves advisers to village chiefs. It is you who work on the ground. Give value to what you have learnt and put it into practice. I'm counting on you}," he told them.



The 30 participants left the training session saying they felt more capable, satisfied and confident of their ability to tackle the difficulties in the horizon.