Diasporas in Dialogue: Lessons from Reconciliation Efforts in African Refugee Communities

This article presents the African Diaspora Dialogue Project (ADDP), a five-year capacity-building project that conducted needs assessment, dialogue groups, dialogue facilitator training, and community-led peace-building processes for multiple refugee communities from Africa. ADDP, conducted in the United States, was created to address historical grievances that had traveled with community members into the diaspora. Particular challenges facing refugee communities were addressed, culturally congruent peace-building models were developed and implemented, and participants were trained to become community facilitators. A framework for dialogue was developed as well as lessons learned so that other communities may consider embarking on similar processes.