The Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (COMINSUD) on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, organized a follow-up meeting on the pilot action to integrate the promotion of values and symbols of national unity into the Annual Plan of the Bamenda II Sub Divisional Council. The meeting held at the conference hall of the Bamenda II Council and brought together council officials, civil society actors and representatives of decentralized institutions.
The workshop was organized within the framework of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) Network’s strategic advocacy for peace, an initiative supported by Bread for the World, Germany. It aimed at reinforcing the promotion of civic values and national symbols that foster social cohesion, peace and local development, particularly in conflict-affected contexts.
Addressing a Fragile Context
Opening discussions were set against the backdrop of escalating armed violence in the North West Region, urban criminality and increasing school-related violence. These challenges, participants noted, have plunged communities into fear, insecurity and uncertainty, while weakening national attachment to civic values and symbols that promote unity and development.
Against this background, the CPS Cameroon Network, made up of 17 partner organizations adopted a strategic advocacy approach to encourage stronger commitment from political and institutional actors toward peace, justice and reconciliation. This vision gave rise to the advocacy project for the Promotion of Civic Awareness in Diversity Based on Common History and Values/Symbols of National Unity (PCCD-HCV), which has been implemented nationwide over the past three years.
From Dialogue to Local Action
In 2023, citizen dialogue sessions were organized across Cameroon to encourage young people and local authorities to appropriate national values and symbols. Building on these efforts, the CPS Network in 2024 launched a pilot action in 10 municipal councils aimed at developing local strategies for promoting civic values that enhance social cohesion and local development.
COMINSUD, the CPS partner operating in the North West Region, implemented the pilot action in the Bamenda II Sub Divisional Council between November and December 2024. The process resulted in the identification of key civic values and priority actions for the municipality, including the promotion of community service, integrity and accountability, respect for cultural and traditional values, investment in education and sports, arts and cultural activities, citizen participation in decision-making and elections, tax payment, peace, justice, tolerance, non-violence, trust, synergy in action and improved service delivery by council staff.
Assessing Progress and Looking Ahead
The January 15 follow-up meeting sought to assess how these strategies have been integrated into the council’s annual plan, identify limitations, and explore ways to strengthen implementation in 2026 through partnerships and monitoring mechanisms.
The overall objective, organizers explained, is to ensure that decentralized local authorities fully appropriate and integrate values and symbols of national unity into their local development plans. Specific objectives included strengthening participants’ knowledge, reviewing progress and challenges, elaborating concrete strategies for the current year, and establishing a monitoring framework.
Participatory methods such as presentations, plenary discussions and brainstorming sessions were used throughout the workshop, allowing participants to actively contribute to reflections and recommendations.
Voices from Participants
Hon. Chinda Robert Ndofekeh, Mezam Divisional Representative at the North West Regional Assembly, described the seminar as timely and enriching. “We are in a state of crisis, and the crisis has gone as far as making even our children and elderly people not to know our national symbols,” he said.
“These symbols bring us together and promote peace. We have learned how to tell people the value of our national symbols, how to uphold and upgrade them. If we continue with seminars like this, the peace we cherish in Cameroon will eventually be realized.”
For his part, Abdullahi Musa, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Bamenda II Council, said the meeting served as a critical follow-up to commitments made in 2024. “This was to see how far we have gone since the last meeting, and COMINSUD was happy to find out that some of the activities we agreed on were included in our last budgetary session,” he explained.
“We also discussed challenges such as lack of finances, insecurity and limited collaboration from the population, but we adopted resolutions that will help us move forward next year.”
Toward Sustainable Peace at the Local Level
At the close of the workshop, participants expressed renewed commitment to translating adopted strategies into concrete actions. With monitoring mechanisms proposed and partnerships envisaged, COMINSUD and the Bamenda II Council reiterated their shared determination to promote civic values and national unity as foundations for peace, justice and sustainable local development in the municipality and beyond.
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