SONAD (Sudanese Organisation for Non-Violence and Development).

SONAD is one of the oldest non-profit organisations in Sudan, promoting active non-violence and with experience of non-violent action. It is founded on the belief that just, peaceful democratic societies are best built by people with political and civil consciousness, using non-violent methods, and are the joint responsibility of civil society and government.

SONAD began in 1994 with a group of friends from the south at the University of Juba, and was based on their experience of good relationships between Muslims and Christians in the south. They were determined to resist the labelling of the conflict between the north and the south as a religious conflict, and felt that young people were marginalised in decision-making processes. In less than a year, the organisation was so successful that it quickly took on responsibility for raising awareness amongst IDPs and advocating non-violent resistance to government demolition of IDP homes.

SONAD’s members come from different churches, mostly from the south, but with members throughout Sudan. Most of SONAD’s facilitators come from universities and the government institutions, though by training its own members SONAD hopes to phase out its reliance on such institutions.

SONAD’s objectives are:

• To pursue and strengthen social and cultural ties amongst the members of the organisation;
• To inculcate a spirit of patriotism, non-violence and democracy in the Sudanese communities;
• To create and deliver social, cultural and educational services and to inculcate a spirit of peace, unity and good governance in civil society;
• To provide livelihoods through a joint and sustainable development.

SONAD is registered with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Khartoum, Registration No. 001376.

Civic (School of Democracy)

‘Civic’ is a series of workshops, lectures and other activities designed to encourage the emergence of a responsible leadership for Sudan.

The School of Democracy training cycles covers: the art of good governance, leadership, ethnicity, conflict transformation, theology of liberation, human rights, gender and development, and social change. Since 2004, ten training cycles have been organised through the School of Democracy, with several accompanying workshops and meetings.

Aims / Objectives

• To make the population aware of potential sources of support in the outside world that they would not otherwise have approached;
• To begin the process of building a responsible Sudanese leadership with emphasis on Southern Sudan; and
• To encourage a culture of honesty and hard work.

Non-Violence and Conflict Transformation Workshops

A series of three workshops training various Sudanese groups in the principles and practice of non-violence.

Basic Non-violence introduced the theory, practice, history, current uses and religious dimensions of non-violence and gave participants a chance to practise their new skills. Training of Trainers provided more in-depth conceptual understanding of non-violence and its application, and taught participants to lead their own workshops. ‘Do No Harm’ taught the principles of the ‘Do No Harm’ theory, and discussed how it can be applied to the work of development organisations and to the situation in Sudan as a whole.

Aims / Objectives

• To develop understanding of the concept, theory and practice of non-violence;
• To discuss how non-violence can be used in Sudan and the rest of the world today;
• To discuss how different religions can support violence and non-violence;
• To train people to lead non-violence workshops and share their experiences.