A credible national conversation on the future of South Sudan must be anchored in the individual and public consciousness on: why the National Dialogue; what does it seek to achieve; how can South Sudanese participate in the dialogue process; how is it different from other peace processes; and how will its outcome be implemented and monitored? This booklet does not seek to provide compressive answers to these questions. Rather it summarises the outcomes of a workshop on “Facilitating Grassroots Peace Initiatives conducive to an Inclusive and Credible National Dialogue” held from 8 to 9 August 2017 in Juba.

The workshop was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) South Sudan with Japan’s financial support and attended by UNDP’s civil society partners. In doing so, the booklet is intended to serve as a guide and reference for civil society organisations to develop comprehensive messages and strategies to empower communities to participate in the National Dialogue process.

Given the peculiarities of each community and CSOs, this booklet is conceived as a flexible template that can be adapted to fit the need and purpose of each community and organisation. It does so by providing an overview of key facts about the National Dialogue process as well as steps for community sensitisation. It also provides a list of key messages to be used during the National Dialogue sensitisation process. The messages were jointly developed by CSOs and the Secretariat of the National Dialogue during the workshop and have been approved by the National Dialogue Steering Committee.