At the international conference centre in Caux, Switzerland, Mathilde Kayitesi, Executive Secretary of Umuhuza, a local NGO and board member IofC Great Lakes Initiative, met with Nombulelo Khanyile (South African) and Amina Dikedi-Ajakaiye (Nigerian) to discuss some thoughts she had about Rwanda, and how the African Co-ordination Group (ACG) could assist with the work they were doing with women and the youth. Little did they know that in less than two months they would be in Rwanda.

16 September was a great day for IofC South Sudan as volunteers in its Youth in Solidarity programme started a five day mini-forum under the theme ‘Initiating Solidarity and Trust in South Sudan’.

Launched in January, 2013 with six weeks of intensive training for 11 people from seven African countries, the Workshop for Africa (WfA) group spent two months in South Sudan to assist with the training of 200 Peace Mobilisers. After a period of evaluation of the programme and further training, the group is now active in Kenya.

A national conference for Christian leaders brought together over 1,000 Chadians in N'Djamena from 24-28 June. One of the two main themes of the conference was interfaith dialogue. This was addressed by Chawkat Moucarry, director for inter-faith relations at World Vision, who showed the film The Imam and the Pastor (made by Initiatives of Change's FLTfilms) to the 1,000 participants.

The second part of a two-phase Training of Trainers (TOT) run by MRA/IofC Nigeria concluded on Saturday, June 22 at the IofC centre in Lagos. The workshops are designed to equip leaders to run Initiatives of Change training events to inspire, connect and equip change makers.

The Workshop for Africa (WfA) team, led by Anthony Duigan, joined the Kenyan team of Initiatives of Change for a refreshing retreat held at St Mary’s Pastoral Centre, Nakuru on 6-7 July 2013.

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and founder of the Kofi Annan Foundation, closed 19 July the ‘Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy’ conference. His intervention, often humorous, was followed by a 45 minute session of animated Q&A.

The visit of President Obama to South Africa, coinciding with prayerful vigils for Nelson Mandela, highlighted the challenge of ethical leadership for the continent. Anthony Duigan reports on the Workshop for Africa - an exciting new initiative to nurture a new generation of leaders.

The third international Muslim and Christian Teachers' Dialogue kicked off on 27 April in Lira, Northern Uganda, with the theme of 'The teacher in changing society'. Andrew Mukwana reports.

‘When women come together, there is power and strength,’ These were the words of one of the women who attended the Creators of Peace Circles re-union in Nakuru, Kenya which took place on the 16-18 May, 2013 with the theme ‘Enhancing Women’s Capacity in Peace Building’. The re-union was followed by a three day facilitation training for Peace Circles programme.