John Nkum, Organization Development Centre Ghana, discusses power relations and dynamics in partnerships and reiterates that we need multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms to incorporate the citizens at the grassroots level.

The peacebuilding architecture is defined by unequal partnerships. It is a question of who determines the agenda, the implemented actions, the funding needs, and most importantly, who benefits from the results. John Nkum criticizes that northern partners tend to work with the governments, which however do not necessarily represent the interests and needs of the citizens. There is an essential need to get to the grassroots level and incorporate citizen movements through multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms in peacebuilding. Nkum further elaborates on opportunities for amplifying the voices of unheard groups as well as the need to shift the focus in partnerships from the symptoms of conflict to the actual root causes.