The African Union (AU) Youth for Peace Africa Programme, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), and the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) have launched a game dubbed “Mission55 Conflict in Anaka”, to mark the International Day of Peace (Peace Day) 2022.

The game developed by AU, GIZ and PAGG, seeks to raise awareness, educate and inform the public, especially the youth, on AU’s mandate to promote good governance, peace and security in Africa.

The game exposes participants to the AU governance, peace, and security tools used to prevent, manage and mitigate conflicts and to promote peacebuilders in their communities.

It targets youths in conflict and warzone areas who are between the ages of 16 and 34.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Patience Chiradza, Director for Governance and Conflict Prevention, lauded the partnership.

Speaking on behalf of Amb Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Chiradza called on African youth to continue to leverage new technologies to deepen their knowledge toward meaningfully contributing to sustainable peace in Africa.

She further underscored the pertinent contributions of the African Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAPs) in advancing the implementation of the youth, peace, and security agenda in close collaboration with the AU Member States, especially the Peace and Security Council.


She also looked forward to the key milestone of “The adoption of the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and its 10-Year Implementation Plan in 2020”.

On his part, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of UNOAU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, reiterated UN pledge to promote human dignity, end racism and build peace, in line with the Peace Day 2022 theme and the Joint UN-AU Framework for an Enhanced Partnership.

Parfait noted that education is significance in the promotion of harmony in our communities and lauded the use of technological innovations to promote inclusivity in peacebuilding.

“This game will reinforce outreach efforts as youth can now connect through smartphones and be more aware of the work of the African Union in crisis prevention, conflict management, and peacebuilding,” said Stephan Auer, German Ambassador to Ethiopia.


The AYAPs convened a Youth General Assembly to update young people on the progress in the implementation of the youth, peace, and security agenda in Africa after the launch.

“We’re delighted by how Mission 55 – Conflict in Anaka is a powerful example of the power of gamification to create meaningful social impact in the community. Today’s youth love playing video games. Our #GamingForGood mission turns that passion into positive changes,” added Jay Shapiro, Chairman of the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG).

The said activities to commemorate Peace Day 2022 at the AU Headquarters brought together representatives from the AU and partner organizations, AYAPs and other young people from across Africa, including digital media practitioners and social media influencers.