Developed to support community-based peacebuilding, six beautifully illustrated, true-to-life stories explore conflict, displacement, inter- and intra-religious dialogue, and everyday actions for peace. The video stories and accompanying booklet are practical tools for training, facilitated discussions and reflection. Produced to support strengthening social cohesion and religious tolerance in Northern Mozambique, but useful and applicable in wider conflict context in Africa.
Challenge & Context
Mozambique’s northern provinces have experienced prolonged armed conflict, displacement and rising inter- and intra-communal tensions, including religious intolerance and human rights abuses. While peacebuilding initiatives exist, community members and local leaders often lack accessible, relatable tools to support dialogue, mediation and conflict prevention at grassroots level. The challenge was to create resources that:
- Reflect real lived experiences of conflict and displacement
- Are accessible across languages and literacy levels
- Support safe, facilitated dialogue, not blame or polarisation
- Can be used flexibly in training, community discussions and online spaces
Key Activities & Outputs
- Six illustrated video stories, combining audio narratives with motion illustration
- Downloadable illustrated booklet featuring the full stories, discussion questions and dialogue prompts for each story
- Multilingual versions (Portuguese, Emakhua, Makhonde + adapted English)
- Online toolkit, accessible to peace practitioners, faith leaders and community groups
The Stories
Each story explores a different pathway to peace and social cohesion:
- Paulo – Community early warning systems preventing recruitment and violence
- Miriam – A mother’s story of loss, displacement and resilience
- Mohammed – A young man’s journey away from violence and extremism
- Maura – Speaking up for dialogue and tolerance in a women’s savings group
- Amade – Everyday leadership, inclusion and interfaith solidarity
- Alberto – Resolving neighbour disputes through dialogue and mediation
Together, the stories show that peacebuilding happens both in formal processes and in everyday choices.
Approach & Process
CMFD Productions worked with peacebuilding partners to translate complex peace and conflict concepts into human-centred stories that resonate emotionally and culturally. Key elements of the approach included:
- Developing composite, true-to-life narratives grounded in community realities
- Using audio storytelling paired with motion illustration to enhance accessibility
- Designing stories to stand alone or be used collectively in facilitated sessions
- Producing content in Portuguese, Emakhua and Makhonde, with adapted English versions
- Integrating discussion questions and facilitation prompts to support dialogue and learning
The result is a toolkit that places people—not theory—at the centre of peacebuilding.
Impact & Use
The Stories for Peace & Social Cohesion resources are being used to:
- Support community trainings on conflict sensitivity and mediation
- Facilitate inter- and intra-religious dialogue
- Encourage reflection, discussion and collective problem-solving
- Share peacebuilding messages through social media and digital platforms
By grounding peacebuilding in familiar voices and experiences, the project strengthens trust, understanding and participation at community level.
Why It Works
- Human stories create empathy and open space for dialogue
- Illustration and audio overcome literacy barriers
- Faith and community perspectives are centred, not imposed
- Practical discussion tools turn stories into action
- Flexible formats support both offline and online engagement
CMFD Services Provided
- Story development and scripting
- Audio production and motion illustration
- Multilingual adaptation
- Toolkit and discussion guide development
- Digital content production