Sierra Leone must move beyond simply preserving its hard-won peace and focus on transforming that peace into meaningful development, social justice, opportunity and a stronger sense of national belonging, renowned international peace scholar, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, has said.
Dr. Bangura made the call on Monday, September 21, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the International Day of Peace commemoration organised by the Peace Society of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, under the theme, “Peace Is a Choice We Make Every Day.”
His keynote address, titled “Building Sustainable Peace to Enhance Social Development,” provided a wide-ranging reflection on Sierra Leone’s peacebuilding journey and the responsibilities of citizens, institutions, young people and the academic community in ensuring that peace becomes a foundation for long-term national development.
According to Dr. Bangura, the true measure of peace should not be limited to the absence of armed conflict or violence. Rather, he said, peace should be assessed by what individuals, communities and nations are able to build because peace exists.
He explained that meaningful peace should create an environment where children can access quality education, families can plan for their futures, businesses can grow, institutions can become stronger and communities can rebuild trust and social relationships.
“For Sierra Leone,” he observed, “the question is not only whether we can preserve our peace, but what we will build with that peace.”
Dr. Bangura noted that Sierra Leone’s experience demonstrates that the end of conflict is only one stage in the broader process of peacebuilding. Sustaining peace, he said, requires continuous efforts to address the social, economic and institutional conditions that can either strengthen or undermine peaceful coexistence.
Drawing from his experience in peacebuilding and field engagements in countries including South Sudan, Dr. Bangura stressed that sustainable peace must ultimately be people-centred.
He argued that peace agreements, security arrangements and political settlements can only have lasting meaning when they translate into tangible improvements in people’s everyday lives. Such improvements, he said, should include access to education, decent livelihoods, justice, healthcare, economic opportunities and inclusive participation in national development.
He identified justice, opportunity, inclusion, strong institutions and social cohesion as five essential foundations for sustainable peace.
Justice, he explained, is critical to ensuring that citizens have confidence in institutions and believe that grievances can be addressed through legitimate processes rather than confrontation. Opportunity, meanwhile, is necessary to ensure that citizens—particularly young people—can see a realistic future for themselves within their communities and country.
On inclusion, Dr. Bangura challenged Sierra Leoneans to examine who benefits from national development and who may be left behind.
He urged the country to move beyond measuring development only through aggregate economic indicators and instead pay closer attention to how development affects ordinary citizens across different communities and social groups.
“The question is not only how much development we are achieving,” he said, “but who is benefiting and who is being left behind.”
Dr. Bangura also called for a stronger culture of responsible democratic citizenship, stressing that peaceful societies must learn how to accommodate differences without turning disagreements into hostility.
He urged Sierra Leoneans to learn to disagree without dehumanising one another, warning against the tendency to allow ethnicity, regional identity or political affiliation to determine how citizens perceive and treat their fellow countrymen and women.
According to him, democracy should not simply be understood as the periodic exercise of voting rights, but also as a culture of dialogue, tolerance, accountability, respect for evidence and peaceful engagement with people holding different opinions.
He therefore encouraged citizens to recognise that disagreement is a normal feature of democratic society and should not automatically become a source of division.
A significant part of his message was directed at young people, whom he described as already being important citizens and agents of peace and social transformation.
Rejecting the common description of young people as merely “leaders of tomorrow,” Dr. Bangura said young people are already participating in the decisions, relationships and social processes that shape Sierra Leone’s present and future.
He encouraged young Sierra Leoneans to think critically, verify information before sharing it, engage respectfully with opposing viewpoints and resist inheriting divisions from previous generations.
He further urged young people to recognise their responsibility in building a society where differences can be managed peacefully and where social media and other communication platforms are used to promote constructive dialogue rather than misinformation, hostility and division.
Dr. Bangura also challenged Fourah Bay College and the wider academic community to strengthen their contribution to peacebuilding and national development.
He called for greater investment in conflict prevention, early warning systems, mediation, peace research and youth leadership, while encouraging scholars and students to draw lessons from Sierra Leone’s own difficult peacebuilding journey.
He said academic institutions have an important role to play in generating evidence, facilitating dialogue and producing knowledge that can help policymakers, communities and citizens better understand the causes of conflict and the conditions necessary for sustainable peace.
The occasion carried an added personal significance for Dr. Bangura, as September 21 also marked his birthday.
Reflecting on the coincidence, he said birthdays should provide an opportunity not only to count the years one has lived, but also to reflect on what one has learned, whom one has served and what one has contributed to building.
His reflections reinforced the broader message of the International Day of Peace celebration: that peace is not a static achievement but an ongoing responsibility.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Bangura envisioned a Sierra Leone where diversity is recognised as a source of strength rather than division; where institutions earn and maintain public trust; where development reaches communities across the country; and where citizens feel that they have a meaningful stake in the nation.
He expressed hope for a country where every citizen can confidently say: “I belong here. My voice matters. My future matters. I have a stake in this country.”
Dr. Bangura challenged Sierra Leoneans to give greater purpose to the peace they inherited by transforming it into tangible progress for present and future generations.
“Peace is not simply something we inherit. It is something we build, protect and renew,” he said.
His final appeal was a call for citizens to choose dialogue over dehumanisation, inclusion over exclusion, justice over vengeance, evidence over misinformation, civic responsibility over indifference, and opportunity over hopelessness.
For Dr. Bangura, the task before Sierra Leone is therefore not merely to preserve the peace achieved after years of conflict, but to ensure that the peace produces meaningful dividends for the people.
He emphasised that sustainable peace should be reflected in stronger institutions, greater social trust, expanded opportunities, inclusive development and a national culture in which citizens see one another as partners in building the country’s future.
As Sierra Leone continues to consolidate its peace, the message from the International Day of Peace commemoration was clear: peace must not simply be preserved as a historical achievement. It must be continuously strengthened, deepened and translated into better lives, greater opportunity and shared national progress.
Peace, Dr. Bangura stressed, must be given purpose—and transformed into progress.
DIB Movement Media and Communications Team