Annual Work Plan: Year Four | Shejeh Salam (Promoting Peace)

The initial transitional period was set to last 36 months, with elections scheduled for February 2023. However, the transition period was extended to February 2025, with elections planned for December 2024. As of the writing, public opinion remains divided regarding the likelihood of the December 2024 elections, with the incumbent government committed to the election schedule. The national elections in December 2024 are likely to have a significant impact on Shejeh Salam's work areas, with an increase in political activity at both national and local levels. This may lead to increased violence as a means of securing constituencies, particularly in the provision of small arms to local communities. As a result, communal conflict is expected to rise in at least some Shejeh Salam activity sites across South Sudan. The South Sudanese economy continues to suffer due to increased global food prices linked to the war in Ukraine, the shutdown of trade due to war in Sudan to the north, and other factors. This economic instability is likely to exacerbate existing challenges and create new ones for Shejeh Salam's program implementation. Shejeh Salam's Regional Approach aims to address these challenges by promoting peace processes and peaceful co-existence, advocating for peace, justice, reconciliation, and reform, providing trauma awareness services to communities, and disseminating accurate, fair, and thorough information to mitigate the destructive impact of rumor and misinformation. The program's geographic focus is on Juba, South Sudan, with a specific emphasis on the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and other areas of high conflict. Shejeh Salam's approach to geographical targeting involves working with local actors, civil society organizations, and key partners to promote peace and stability in these areas. Shejeh Salam's programming strategy is guided by a set of cross-cutting themes, including capacity building and sustainability, gender and social inclusion, environmental compliance, adaptability and flexibility, conflict sensitivity, working with government, learning, clustering, layering, and sequencing activities, and collaboration and coordination. These themes are intended to be integrated into individual activities and the portfolio of Shejeh Salam activities to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable approach to promoting peace and stability in South Sudan. The program's objectives are to: 1. Local actors are building crossline interdependence and intra-community cohesion to promote peace processes and peaceful co-existence. 2. Civil society actors are advocating for peace, justice, reconciliation, and reform; and participating in political and civic processes. 3. Key partners are providing trauma awareness services to communities. 4. Print, radio, and other media are providing accurate, fair, and thorough information to mitigate the destructive impact of rumor and misinformation. Shejeh Salam's approach to achieving these objectives involves a range of activities, including training and capacity building, community outreach and engagement, advocacy and lobbying, and media development and dissemination. The program's implementation will be monitored and evaluated through a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system, which will provide regular updates on progress and identify areas for improvement.