The extremism North region of Cameroon is a Muslim-majority area in terms of religious affiliations. The region is a crossroads of trading routes and cultures.

Despite this reality, this region is among the poorest regions in the country and has experienced various violent conflicts including ethnic and tribal conflicts, as well as religious conflicts. The rise of Christian revivalist (born again) and Muslim fundamentalist movements are rapidly changing the religious landscape and paving the way for religious intolerance, as each group claims superiority over the other by using derogatory words on each other.

_{The youth presenting their lived experiences of religious intolerance} 

The emergence of Boko Haram extremist groups in the north and extreme northern regions, combined with already existing communal tensions, has continued to challenge the spirit of religious intolerance in the region. This reality has kept PROCMURA on her toes to come up with innovative and effective mechanisms for addressing this situation, one of which is the youth camp on religious tolerance and peacebuilding in Maorua Cameroon.

_{The youth in session, taking the initiative}

PROCMURA in pursuit of its overall goal of “a continent where Christian and Muslim communities despite their differences, work together for justice, peace and reconciliation towards the holistic development of the human family and the environment”, and also working towards the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG) 16, on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and Aspiration 4 of the African Union Agenda 2063 “A peaceful and secure Africa”, which calls for nurturing of a culture of peace and tolerance in Africa’s children and youth through peace education, PROCMURA organized the inter-religious youth camp on religious tolerance and peacebuilding in Maroua Cameroon. The camp brought together forty-six (46) Christian and Muslim youth from the churches and mosques from Maroua for a 2-day encounter from the 17th and 18th of October 2022.

_{The PROCMURA team addressing the youth}

The activities included presentations by the youths, religious leaders, and conflict experts on the practice, the challenge, and the limits of religious tolerance. The youths were also schooled on conflict analysis and conflict management techniques. It was interesting to listen to the real experiences of the youth on religious intolerance in the community as they narrated several challenges, one of which is the difficulties faced by non-Muslims in accessing rental houses from the Muslim majority community who are mostly the landlords. The youth also engaged each other through team-building activities to build trust, understanding, collaboration, tolerance, and empathy. Their impressions of each other were phenomenal as some of them expressed the fact that it was their first time trusting anyone from the religious. Several prejudices and stereotypes about the religious other were discussed and debunked by the youth themselves through the activities as they sorted clarification from their religious leaders in attendance.

_{Rev. Robert Goyek, a member of PROCMURA's Executive Committee, interacting with the youth during a conflict analysis activity session}

The programme ended with awards of certificates of participation to the youth and the commissioning of the youth as PROCMURA peace ambassadors. The commissioned youth immediately established their network and leaders of the network to ensure continuity and sustainability.

_{The youth receiving their certificates of participation}

The youth who are representing churches and Mosques from Maroua, jointly drafted their action plan. Top on the list of the plan is the radio awareness programme advocating for access to rental houses by non-Muslims and many more.

_{A candle-lighting session}

_{Conflict analysis activities; Imam Bashiru taking his turn with the youth}

_{Rev. Dr. Salli Effungani participated in the conflict-sensitive activities.} 

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