R4P Factsheet
Equal Access International implements the Resilience for Peace (R4P) project, a five-year USAID-funded initiative to strengthen community resilience and prevent violent extremism (PVE) in 27 locations in northern Côte d’Ivoire.
R4P facilitates civic and economic empowerment opportunities for at-risk border communities, including women and youth; enables an inclusive network of countering violent extremism (CVE) researchers, practitioners, and influencers; and integrates learning to identify areas of radicalization and vulnerability.
R4P is active in eight of the ten northern border departments, with ten staff located across the target regions, and offices in Korhogo and Abidjan.
Approach to community resilience
R4P promotes comprehensive community approaches to building resilience that engages local leaders, the Ivorian government, local researchers, and media. R4P conducts research on emerging trends related to the security context, which informs governance, natural resource management, and economic livelihoods programming. R4P leverages partnerships with 12 radio stations and a network of 60 social media influencers to promote CVE content in northern Côte d’Ivoire while encouraging community validation and constructive feedback.
R4P adheres to Do No Harm conflict sensitivity principles and works with program stakeholders to ensure program initiatives do not contribute to or exacerbate existing social tensions.
R4P components
Developing enduring partnerships
R4P’s community approach to resilience is reinforced by developing close partnerships with national and local governments as well as local leaders from northern Côte d’Ivoire. R4P bridges divides between government and local communities, builds trust with minorities like the Fulani, and improves social cohesion. R4P brings essential state services to remote border locations to increase marginalized communities’ access to services, while also improving the government’s ability to provide these services. EAI works closely with the Ivorian National Security Council (Conseil National de Sécurité) to ensure CVE programming aligns with Côte d’Ivoire’s national priorities. Additionally, R4P partners with the National Border Commission (Commission nationale des frontières) to discuss ongoing research, community action strategies, and priority recommendations. Each year, R4P convenes international organizations, local CVE researchers, community leaders, and Ivorian government partners to deepen interdisciplinary collaboration, discuss research trends, and coordinate CVE initiatives at the Annual Learning Summit.
R4P’s results
- Implemented 447 activities.
- Reached over 15,749 participants.
- 43% of participants are women (6,770)
- 39% of participants are youth (6,039)
- Supported 439 radio productions, including 10,319 broadcasts totaling over 2,353 hours.
- Created 186 multimedia publications to counter fake news and hate speech.
- Published 8 research studies, 5 infographics and 1 policy brief in French and English. Research
- Studies can be found here: https://www.equalaccess.org/research-r4p/
Measuring Impact
