DRC 101 Panel
This panel, of Congolese civil society, DRC- US foreign policy analysts and academics who have studied the problems of the Congo, is designed to give both a basic understanding of the political situation in present day Congo while exploring the roots of past conflict and the economic inequality that fuels the problems of today.

Workshop Topics

1. Exploring Gender based violence in the Congo
This panel will highlight the social and political implications of rape and other gender based violence in the Congo. Practitioners, experts on gender based violence and others will discuss the realities and policy prescriptions. April, in the U.S. is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and provides a unique opportunity to make local-global links around awareness of sexual violence and its prevention.

2. What Children Here? Children as victims of war and economic realities in the DRC
Children, in any conflict, are the most vulnerable and those tasked least able to survive. This workshop will examine the reality that faces many children in the Congo as child laborers, soldiers and displaced persons. Practitioners, experts on the rights of children and others will discuss the current realities and possible policy prescriptions.

3. National resource exploitation and conflict
This workshop aims to give participants a holistic point of view of the systems and framework that underpin natural resource exploitation in the DRC with an emphasis on the human dimensions of the mining industry and the role of the DRC government, international bodies and multinational corporations in economic exploitation.

4. Post conflict nation stabilization and governance concerns
Post conflict stabilization and reconstruction in the DRC is closely linked with governance, transparency and the intervention of international bodies. These workshops will explore with post-conflict experts from the DRC and the U.S. the current realities and possible policy prescriptions.

5. Essential tools for Congo advocates
These trainings are designed to help support grassroots earn media, organize people and build constituencies around the Congo. Ultimately the skill building in this setting will help our shared work on behalf of the people of the Congo while providing a space to develop ways to put information into action.