JUBA - “Community Conversations is one of the critical pillars for bridging the gap and bringing everyone together for diverse views to be heard, understood and appreciated.”

Speaking at the launch of a new platform promoting grassroots engagement on the key issues confronting South Sudan, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Peace Building, Pia Philip Michael, stressed the importance of enabling diverse communities to communicate in an inclusive and interactive environment.

The Community Conversations show is a new programme hosted by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan’s Radio Miraya network, which is dedicated to reaching large, diverse and remote audiences across the country with information of importance and messages of peace.

“Miraya reaches even the most isolated corners of the country and has become more than just a medium of entertainment. It is a lifeline that informs, educates, and unites,” said Chief of Radio Miraya, Ratomir Petrovic.

“The Community Conversations show gives communities a voice, an opportunity to freely express their views on issues that are close to their hearts and affect their day to day lives.”

As the most powerful tool for reaching audiences in a country where illiteracy rates are high and internet penetration is poor, this radio-based initiative provides an important opportunity for those who are often marginalized, including youth and women, to participate in important discussions on community wellbeing, governance, and peacebuilding.

“Community Conversations is critical because it is a platform to strengthen and promote inclusion: inclusion of ideas, inclusion of views and thoughts, so that the people of South Sudan have a common agenda of building the country and, also, respecting each other’s opinions,” said Pia Philip Michael.

The inclusive approach was exemplified by the event itself which featured vibrant cultural performances, including from the Kresh and Avukaya minority tribes. Some participants remarked that, while they had heard of these tribes, they had never encountered them in person or experienced their traditional dance.

The initiative is all about building understanding and trust, promoting cultural diversity and encouraging people to embrace unity, build a sense of nationhood and collective movement for peace.

“Peace cannot be realized by force. It's not by use of arms, but it is by understanding,” said the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Information, Dr. Yath Awan Yath.

“It is for me and you to stand up for peace, to forgive one another, to say no to revenge, to hear other people's opinion, to use dialogue as a means of resolving our differences. That's when development, economic growth, our children going to school, food in abundance, will be realized in South Sudan.”

The program, led by UNMISS’ Community Outreach Unit, will air three times a week as part of a broader communications campaign under the theme “Peace Begins with Me” that seeks to enhance the political and civic space in South Sudan.