SIMEON WIAKANTY
Africa-Press – Liberia. As part of efforts to sustain Liberia’s peace and security ahead of the October polls, the Foundation for Women (FFW), in partnership with Safe Conversations, a US based organization, has embarked on a dialogue series called “Safe Conversations,” a new way that teaches citizens how to talk and approach issues with a sense of appreciation.
Safe Conversations is a program brought to Liberia by the Foundation for Women in June 2021 and has been piloting since then. It is now trying to be decentralized across the country as elections draw near. As it might be a new phenomenon in the Liberian setting, Safe Conversations, if practiced successfully, will allow Liberians, despite their political and religious affiliations, to coexist during and after elections.
Drs. Harville Hendricks and Helen LaKelly Hunt are co-creators of Safe Conversations, based in the United States, which helps people learn how to talk without criticism, listen without judgment, and connect beyond differences. It uses a three simple steps process that teaches people how to become more present in all their relationships.
Arthur Williams, Administrative Manager of FFW, expressed excitement for the program, “I am glad, and this is the right time to have Safe Conversations considering our electoral process, which is around the corner.”
Williams said: “We are sensing something like violence all over the country, and as such, we want to use this time to create awareness on how to have Safe Conversations during the election period.
According to him, Liberia’s peace can only be preserved by Liberians through Safe conversations, and when they are able to touch the length and breadth of the country with Safe Conversations, Liberia’s elections will be violence free ones.
Nowadays, everyone is bitter with each other, therefore, the institution wants to bring together politicians from various political parties, to learn how to have Safe Conversations. Williams further disclosed that the organization started holding workshops with a few schools, beginning with the Heart of Grace School in Jacob Town, Paynesville, the Soul Clinic Public School, Whole Gospel, and Golden Age, beginning in 2021.
Other schools include Pamella, Kendeja Public School, Transformer Christian Academy, and Alexander A. Andrews in Bong County. It may be recalled that in 2022, teachers and students from the above institutions in Bong and Montserrado counties were also trained by the organization as a means of elevating the issue of having Safe Conversations.
By dramatizing this we think it would go a long way and so we can reach out to the politicians, slums communities, disadvantaged youths before October 10 elections. We intend to decentralize this process because Monrovia is not Liberia,” added Williams. There are other people that are frustrated and we want them to know how to appreciate people and how to express their frustration while having a safe conversation. It is our hope that we can be part of this process to help us preserve our peace and security.
Samuel Mayson, Country Director of Safe Conversation, stressed how important it is at this time to have a safe conversation, looking at the peacebuilding process and the pending elections. We are all getting into every day in all sectors of our lives, especially with the elections now pending. We want to work together to be able to understand each other and reach agreement beyond our differences, that is what Safe Conversations is all about,” Mayson added.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer, Mayson also imagined how the world would be when everybody could come together and reach an agreement through Safe Conversations.
“It will be a happy world where things will move smoothly. This is something that we anticipate if we use the Safe Conversations methodology. We will be fine.”
He also warned against negativity, saying, “We don’t want negativity in our setting, and this is why we are trying to push this so that people can learn it and apply it in their daily lives, and Safe Conversations is a medium to get all that accomplished.
I have come to you today with an appeal that, by next month, the campaign will be declared open. You can chant all of your slogans during political relays, but please use Safe Conversations as a way of maintaining our peace. The fact that you have decided to come and be part of this event today shows that you are stakeholders, and Safe Conversations should be the order of the day as we go to elections. Take Safe Conversations to your communities, churches, mosques, and political parties—to all parts of your life.”
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