AMK Symposium 2018: Cameroon 2035 – United, Stable, Peaceful?

In 2018, our project “Cameroon 2035 – United, Stable, Peaceful?” brought us together with the Cameroonian diaspora in Berlin to look for ways out of the conflict between the Anglophone and Francophone populations. Three panel discussions in the spring were followed by our AMK Symposium on September 15.

What it was about

Cameroon had set itself an ambitious goal: by 2035, the country wanted to become a middle-income emerging economy. But since the end of 2016, the conflict between the “Anglophone” and “Francophone” populations had been intensifying. In the Anglophone regions, it had escalated into civil war.

The roots of the conflict go back to the colonial era, when Cameroon was divided into two territories. Poor governance also played a major role. Alongside the search for solutions, we wanted to inform the general public about the situation in Cameroon.

Three panel discussions

In April and May 2018, we hosted three evenings, each from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. After a keynote speech and three short input talks, experts and audience members discussed the issues together. Each evening ended with an African buffet.

• April 20, 2018 The colonial past as a starting point for solutions: What responsibility do Germany, France, and the United Kingdom bear? Which shared values from precolonial times can strengthen peace today? Makénéné restaurant, Berlin-Charlottenburg
• May 4, 2018 The conflict in Cameroon – understanding the causes, overcoming the crisis: The focus was on good governance and on whether the centralized system adopted from France suits Cameroon. Makénéné restaurant, Berlin-Charlottenburg
• May 18, 2018 The potential of the diaspora: What role can the Cameroonian diaspora play in finding a lasting solution? Afrika Haus, Berlin-Moabit

A total of 94 people attended. Participants from both parts of the country discussed openly and peacefully – for example, whether Cameroon’s problem is mainly one of language or one of its institutions.

The symposium on September 15, 2018

The symposium at the Kurt-Schumacher-Haus in Berlin-Wedding concluded the project. It built on the results of the panels – just a few weeks before Cameroon’s presidential election on October 7, 2018. A total of 76 people took part. The program included:

• a keynote speech on the causes of the crisis in Cameroon
• input talks on the colonial legacy, the system of government, and paths to the peaceful coexistence of many ethnic groups
• three panels: “Forgiveness and Reconciliation as Cameroon’s Way Out of the Crisis,” “How Can Multilingualism Be Consciously Embraced in Cameroon?” and “Cameroon’s System of Government: Models of Decentralization”
• the book launch of “Representations and Renegotiations of the Nation in Anglophone Cameroonian Literature” by a Cameroonian literary scholar

Results

• Three things were identified as key to a stable peace: good governance, less inequality, and coming to terms with the colonial era and its consequences.
• Ideas for resolving the conflict were passed on to political representatives.
• The Cameroonian diaspora experienced itself as able to act – even under the difficult conditions of the conflict.
• In a self-critical discussion, it considered how it can use its opportunities more effectively for development and peace in Cameroon.

Cameroon remained a topic of our events: in 2019 and 2026, we hosted Future Workshops on a possible Third Republic.

The project was funded by Engagement Global on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and by the Berlin State Office for Development Cooperation (LEZ) via the Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken.