From 11 – 13 June 2025, ACCORD, in collaboration with Kairos-DRC, convened a dialogue workshop with 20 faith-based leaders in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The participants represented 12 religious denominations in the DRC, including the Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC). The aim of the workshop was to harmonise the groups’ peacebuilding efforts in addressing the ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC. The activity aligns with ACCORD’s strategic objective to enhance the role of multidimensional stakeholders in addressing complex conflicts.
During the opening session, Professor Jean Akakakiwa noted that religious leaders often constitute the last line of defence during conflict; therefore, it is critical for faith-based actors to be united in vision and action.
The dialogue workshop focused on the mediation process and the importance of listening. Participants were trained on how to effectively prepare for dialogue considering and navigating three key elements: differences, separation, and opposition. The facilitator highlighted that a rigid perspective on differences can lead to separation or ‘othering’ between disputing parties, resulting in a distorted view of the dialogue process and framing it as adversarial.
Additionally, the workshop covered the key components of mediation, stressing the difference between content and process — while the content of the mediation belongs to the disputing parties, the responsibility for the process lies with the mediator — establishing trust in the process is therefore critical to achieving resolution.
To deepen their understanding, participants engaged in various practical scenarios, including a trust-fall exercise that illustrated the essential role of trust — not only between the disputing parties, but also within the dialogue process itself. The key lesson from this exercise was to underscore the importance of trusting the dialogue process to provide and constructive path forward.
A key outcome of this workshop was the formation of a Monitoring Committee comprising representatives from the participating religious denominations. The committee was tasked with ensuring harmonisation of the various peacebuilding initiatives and ensuring that the religious leaders continue to act with unity of vision and purpose.
