With this theme, we aim to foster a deep and comprehensive reflection on the effects of violence on childhood and youth, structuring the debate around three interconnected dimensions: individual, relational/familial, and sociocultural/transgenerational.

Individual aspects

1. What is the impact on child development resulting from exposure to military, religious, and state violence?

2. How do psychoanalytic listening and the construction of narratives—by both the child and the family—contribute to integrating experiences that are often incomprehensible yet insist on being understood?

3. How do trauma-affected children incorporate these experiences into their life plans, self-understanding, and worldview?

4. What psychic marks do these experiences leave on individuals?

5. What risk factors are children exposed to in contexts of war? And what protective factors can be identified in those same contexts?

6. How can we support young people in rediscovering paths of healthy and progressive development, even in the face of tensions and conflicts that block or disrupt their growth?

Familial and relational aspects

1. What risk and protective factors are present in family dynamics within contexts of violence?

2. How can we encourage adults—even in cultures where silence regarding feelings prevails—to talk to children and adolescents about emotions, trauma, and adverse circumstances?

3. What is the role of parents in these situations, and how do they respond to their children’s requests for help—whether explicit or implicit?

Sociocultural and transgenerational aspects

1. In what ways do the transgenerational legacies of colonialism continue to influence the suffering of families and communities?

2. How can we integrate psychoanalytic listening and care with traditional forms of healing found in local cultures?

3. How do these cultures shape both protective and risk factors in coping with trauma? 4. How can psychoanalysis learn from the knowledge and practices of traditional medicine, especially regarding the etiology, prevention, repair, and healing of psychological suffering in children?

5. What effects do forced displacement, exile, continuous stress, and sequential trauma have on children and their families?

6. How do theories and practices inherited from colonial models still contribute today to the reproduction of violence, poverty, and social exclusion?

7. To what extent can we speak of “collective traumatization,” both among colonized peoples and among colonizers?

8. Given that many armed conflicts occur in countries like Mozambique—where there is a shortage of psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and mental health professionals—what care models might be effective in serving thousands of children and their families? What could be considered “best practices” in these contexts?

9. How can community projects be established that reconnect young people with play, creativity, and self-expression—through music, visual arts, theater, storytelling, among other forms?

10. How is it possible to promote both individual expression and collective activities that have a psychotherapeutic nature and that, through informal education, teach tolerance for diversity, respect for differences, and conflict resolution without the use of violence?

11. How can the needs of young people who have undergone severe traumatic experiences be adequately met?

12. And how can we explore themes of ethics and philosophy with young people, so as to develop their capacity for critical thinking and their ability to view the world from both their own perspective and that of others?

These are the starting points for our proposal to build interventions that, we believe, can be more powerful, humane, and transformative.