DILI, 20 June 2025 (TATOLI) – The European Union-funded “Strengthening Social Cohesion” project (SSCP) in Liquiça Municipality has officially concluded today, marking the successful completion of over two years of dedicated work aimed at promoting peace, inclusion, and community resilience in one of Timor-Leste’s most historically significant municipalities.
Over the project’s duration, more than 1795 community members in Liquiça and Bazartete Administrative Posts directly benefited from activities designed to build mutual understanding, strengthen local governance, and enhance conflict resolution mechanisms. Among them, over 43% were female youth and women, reflecting the project’s strong focus on empowering traditionally underrepresented voices.
Implemented in early 2023 and concluding in June 2025, the project is part of a bi-national initiative led by ChildFund International (represented by ChildFund International in Indonesia) and ChildFund Australia (represented by ChildFund Timor-Leste), and carried out in both Liquiça, Timor-Leste and Lampung, Indonesia, with the shared goal of empowering local communities, particularly youth and civil society organisations (CSO) to lead sustainable and culturally sensitive peacebuilding efforts such as Tara Bandu and Nahe Biti Boot in Timor-Leste for prevention of local conflict, and promoting dialogue and inclusion across diverse community sectors.
In Liquiça and Bazartete Administrative Posts, the project engaged over 1795 community members across multiple sucos, including 1026 youths and more than 175 youth leaders and local stakeholders. Peace education sessions were integrated into school and youth curriculum in collaboration with local educators, reaching 579 students and youths throughout the municipality. The project also strengthened the capacity of six youth CSOs in key areas such as project cycle management, financial management, proposal writing, financial compliance policies, child safeguarding and advocacy.
One of the project’s core innovations was the integration of culture-based practices such as Tara Bandu and Nahe Biti boot for conflict prevention and resolution. A total of 838 people participated in Tara Bandu activities. These efforts were reinforced by strong engagement with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture (MJDAC), the Secretariat of State for Art and Culture (SEAC), and municipal leaders, resulting in commitments to prioritize Tara Bandu in future programming and resource allocation.
Furthermore, legal awareness sessions on domestic violence, martial arts, and land laws were held in eight villages, reaching 362 participants to enhance community understanding of legal rights, conflict prevention, and reporting mechanisms.
A significant milestone was achieved through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youths, Arts, Sports and Culture, which led to the formal integration of peace education as an extracurricular activity in six SSCP-supported schools in Timor-Leste, ensuring its sustainability. Through this collaboration, students will continue to engage in structured activities focused on peaceful dialogue, empathy, and leadership, ensuring the project’s legacy continues in classrooms and communities in the future.
“We are pleased to see participation and involvement of young people especially female youth and women in promoting peace despite existing social challenges faced in communities. The Strengthening Social Cohesion Project proves that when young people are given space and trust, they can drive real change in strengthening cultural narratives through their voices to build cross-generational dialogue to foster sustainable social unity. We hope this initiative will have lasting impact in Timor-Leste” said Iotam Lerer, Head of Cooperation at EU Delegation to Timor Leste.
ChildFund Timor-Leste’s Country Director expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, noting that while the project formally ends, its spirit will continue to live on through the structures and relationships that have been built.
“The project has contributed to peace in the community by reinforcing the prevention pillar through peace education and conflict resolution using culture-based practices where youth are empowered to make decisions and become pioneers in their communities. This project managed to further be fortifying the sense of ownership among all stakeholders to conceived peace through the integration of education modalities in schools and in the community itself” said Alzira Reis, Country Director of ChildFund Timor-Leste.”
Expressions of great pride were also conveyed by the Directors of the two local organizations that served as implementing partners in Timor-Leste.
“The project has provided best practices not only to the government and communities, but also to young people we are working with. We have seen significant impact from this project in strengthening our organization’s capacities and visibilities around girls’ participation, youth and peacebuilding” said Judith Maria de Sousa, Executive Director of NGO Ba Faturu.
This was further emphasized by Luis Ximenes, Director of NGO Belun “Together let’s continue to strengthen and empower communities especially promoting the participation of girls and women through cultural peacebuilding, conflict prevention and conflict resolution”.
The closing of the Strengthening Social Cohesion project marks not an end, but a transition, from facilitated peacebuilding to community-owned harmony. With the systems, skills, and spirit now in place, the people of Liquiça are better equipped than ever to shape their own peaceful future.
TATOLI
