British Council Active Citizens Sudan

In this short British Council film, three Welsh Active Citizen's from The British Council's Sudan project talk about their involvement in the scheme. Al Fat'eh is essentially a refugee camp for people displaced by the conflicts in Southern Sudan and Darfur. This area just outside Khartoum lacks many essential services. Water, sanitation and healthcare are largely provided by NGOs and the United Nations, while transport is inadequate and costly for the impoverished residents who wish to travel to Khartoum to find work. Moreover, most lack security of tenure, which means they don't own the land they've been moved to and therefore could be evicted again. The community in Al Fateh represents Sudan's multi-ethnic diversity, including Nuba people, Afro-Arab tribes, Muslims and Christians. Comprehensive community mapping has taken place here for the Active Citizens programme. This has revealed particular demand for intercultural dialogue and social action in areas of tension between different ethnic and religious groups. However, tensions frequently surface between people competing for scarce resources. The mapping identifies that activities like sports, drama and music can bring together people from different backgrounds, and it is hoped these can be used by Active Citizens to promote peaceful co-existence. Active Citizens was launched in Sudan in 2009, and its partners here are mainly representatives of Sudanese government and civil society, including groups such as the ...

View Count: 1 Date: January 20, 2012