PeaceAfrica is a digital commons project of the AllAfrica Foundation, funded by the Ford Foundation's Special Initiative for Africa (SIA).

The web channel, hosted by allAfrica.com, is meant to become an interactive Internet platform, linking African organisations working in peace-building, conflict resolution and related fields into an online network. The peace community includes groups working in civil, legal and human rights, in institution-building at the regional level, in the fields of identity and citizenship and among constituencies such as the arts, labour, women, youth and media. In short, the project is dedicated to facilitating African leadership and partnerships for peace, in and among these many fields.

Among the channel's features will be technology tools enabling PeaceAfrica's users to share their knowledge, experience and resources, to enjoy a stronger voice on the national and international stage and to bolster demands for scrutiny and accountability of the continent's affairs, whether at the level of solving localized conflicts or in nation-to-nation peer review.

Plans for the channel were brewing from late 2001 but gained impetus at a workshop in Maputo, Mozambique, convened by the SIA in June 2002. The meeting brought together groups and individuals working to promote African-led peace initiatives and responses to conflict. Conferees agreed on the need for better communication between those on the ground in Africa and supporters around the world. While a peace channel would support SIA aims, it would also be a resource for the entire community of peace builders.

The channel aims to develop into:

• an Internet space dedicated to supporting peace efforts in Africa, to greater understanding of African conflicts and their context and to the promotion of the institution-building and regional integration that can advance effective cooperation, agreements and policies conducive to peaceful development;
• a meeting point where Africa's peace-building individuals and organizations can introduce themselves and gain visibility, pool information and resources, and encourage discussion and debate among themselves and the wider development community;
• a virtual home for the community of organisations fostered and funded by the Ford Foundation's Special Initiative for Africa, capable of supporting and stimulating the work of that project; and
• the foundation for a sophisticated web services platform that will minimize connectivity problems and strengthen the internal and external capacities of panAfrican institutions concerned with peace and the resolution of conflict.

Using the web in Africa can be time consuming, expensive and frustrating. The channel aims to be streamlined and fast-loading, as we continually quest for new, effective ways to provide effective access to the potency of the Internet for Africa. But no one can doubt that evolving, web system technologies offer new opportunities for everyone pursuing peace for Africa to collaborate and deepen the scope and impact of the work.

What you see here is a beginning. Over the months ahead, the site will gain new services and interactive features; keep checking back.