Name of Organization:
Zomba Center for Creative Arts (ZOCCA)
Description of Organization:
Zomba Center for Creative Arts (ZOCCA) is a youth-led organization that promotes, protects, defends and advances human rights through advocacy, awareness-raising, training and youth development activities. ZOCCA works for, by and with young people to implement all its projects.
Context:
Incidents of religious-based intolerance, conflict and violence between Christian and Muslim youth has been on the rise in Malawi’s Zomba region. While a religious coordination mechanism exists under the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) at the national level, no such mechanism exists at the grassroots level to mitigate hostilities among youth or foster unity, cooperation and peaceful coexistence.
Proposed Project and Expected Results:
The project aims to address increased violence and incidents of religious intolerance among young people in the Zomba region of Malawi by bringing together Muslim and Christian youth to replicate the PAC mechanism at the grassroots level to foster interreligious tolerance, understanding and unity. The project strives to promote interreligious dialogue, foster empathy and respect and promote cooperation among young people from different faith backgrounds through dialogue sessions, interfaith workshops, community service exercises and interreligious sports and cultural events.
Project Coordinator: Pemphero Mapanje
Website: http://www.facebook.com/zoccamalawi/