“For years, I have lived under the shadow of fear, governed by a system that saw me as a threat, not as a citizen,” states one participant. Another from a different armed opposition group declares, “I didn’t join the opposition to fight; I joined to live.”
These quotes come from a mediation simulation exercise conducted by Addis Ababa University students enrolled in the MA in Peace and Security Studies program. The simulation is part of the program’s second-semester conflict resolution course, facilitated by Dr. Mercy Fekadu.
The students have been working on this simulation for nearly two weeks, based on the fictional case study presented to them. They met face-to-face several times and communicated continuously through their Telegram channel, successfully establishing ground rules, the agenda, and the format for the mediation. Today, April 23, 2025, students have dedicated an intensive 3-hour session to completing the mediation process, which is led by an all-female team of mediators. Once the official talks begin, legitimacy, disarmament, human rights violations (including sexual violence), and constitutional reform have emerged as some of the important issues of dialogue.
The MA in Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University offers unique opportunities where students are exposed to the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of conflict resolution in Africa. You can learn more about this and other programs offered in the field of peace and security at https://ipss-addis.org/what-we-do/academic-programmes/.
