Enhancing Peace Through Appropriate Technology Use

The wrong use of Internet-based technology like the social media poses great risks to social cohesion and harmony. With the deliberate or inadvertent spread of hate speech and violent content promoting and fanning conflicts. It was with the objective to proffer solutions that the international charity, Defyhatenow, held a conference in Yaounde from July 14-15, 2022. On the theme, “Inclusive approaches in the use of technology for peace-building in Cameroon.”
“The conference sought to aggregate data from open space and by different organisations to alert the public on the danger of behaving the way we do. We looked at a multi-faceted approach to collecting information on the ground. It also held at a time climate change is making its voice heard again with floods in the country. We think many stakeholders are gradually buying the idea of early warning and response,” explained Ngala Desmond Ngala, Defyhatenow Country Project Manager for West and Central Africa. 
According to him, technology can be used to consolidate peace in Cameroon by getting people to take technology-informed decisions and avoid using the Internet abusively. “We use social media platforms to educate the public on the risks of hate speech, misinformation and disinformation, conflict and violence in our communities by pushing people to become actors of peace in their communities,” Ngala said. 
“Before now, people forwarded messages as they received, fanned conflicts and were happy doing so. This is why we use social media to dampen the effects of conflict and violence,” Ngala Desmond noted. Adding, “Increasingly, more platforms and applications are being created to warn people on travel and where and how violence is happening. Similarly, more young people are embracing technology and abandoning idleness.” 
With participants from civil society, corporate organisations and representatives of diplomatic missions, organisers said panel discussion themes were selected to trigger and spur conversation on handling big data, engineering for peace, sourcing funding for technology for peace; and what education can do with technology. As well as sharing early warning and early responses experiences and mechanisms. Conference participants are expected to continue to discuss cha...