The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation) organized on the occasion of the National Day of Peace and as part of the Houphouët-Boigny Year, a public conference on the theme: “the peace and national reconciliation “on November 15, 2018 at its headquarters in Yamoussoukro. This lecture by Dr Raphaël YA KOMENAN, teacher-researcher, saw the participation of many students and students of the city of Yamoussoukro. It should be noted a strong delegation of activists of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) party founded by “the Apostle of Peace”, headed by Pr. Alphonse DJEDJÉ MADY, vice-president of the party, Mr. Privat N’guessan SÉRI BI, Senator and Mrs. Sita COULIBALY, President of the PDCI Women Union (UFPDCI Urbaine).
In his presentation, Dr. Ya first defined the negative peace that is an absence of war or even a period of calm, taking into account all the socio-political crises that Côte d’Ivoire has experienced. Then, he demonstrated that this negative peace is different from that advocated by “the Father Founder of the modern Ivory Coast” which is rather the permanent quest for harmony between men and social cohesion. He finished by launching a call specifically to the young people present in the audience, so that everyone is a player of peace. Indeed, a quote from President Félix Houphouët-Boigny where he said: “Peace is not a word but a behavior”, reminds us that we must make peace a state of mind.
After the series of contributions and questions, Pr. DJÉDJÉ MADY took the floor to urge the new generation to arm themselves with courage to defend the cause of peace. “So if we want to leave something useful, good for our children, for our grandchildren, we already have reason, we need courage; the courage to follow the path that Felix Houphouet-Boigny has indicated to us, “he said. At the end of this conference, there was the presentation of the trophies of the Basketball Tournament called “Félix Houphouët-Boigny Tournament of Peace” and organized by the Team of Peace association in partnership with the FHB Foundation. This competition saw the participation of 8 youth teams from the city of Yamoussoukro to celebrate peace through sport.