


In diversified society where religion, identity or ideology is a source of conflict, tourism creates an opportunity where these groups come together and would help to promote social cohesion and deescalates tensions. Although there is contention among academia and policy makers regarding Peace and Tourism, it is apparent that tourism facilitates communications among diverse groups and could serve as a platform to promote peace and disseminate peace information. Batu youth Volunteer Peace Tourism project is an innovative community project initiated by CDCB-Batu youth peace volunteers. The project was initiated during the first phase of CDCB “Youth Peace Actors in Oromia” project (December 21, 2020 to April 2021) aimed to promote peace and social cohesion among various religious and ethnic groups in the town. Realizing the scalability and replication of the project, CDCB and USAID/OTI/Dexis decided to further strengthen and promote the initiative for the next three months. As project’s kick-off CDCB organized community consultation session today to evaluate the current status of the project and future planned activities. Participants were Youth peace volunteers, Abba Gadas, Hadaha Sinkes and local structures representatives.