Peace Education in the Great Lakes –case study:

Building interpersonal and intergroup capacities for conflict resolution

Jean Paul Mugiraneza

Director for Programme Development and Innovation

Context• Disintegration of traditional socialisation

processes that transmitted values, attitudes,skills and behaviours to live in harmony withoneself and others, as well as the environment(taboos).

• Vacuum filled by a culture of violence as theonly means to govern relations and resolveconflict (culture of domination and imposition).

• The care that existed is transformed into asurvival mode where each seeks to gaindominance over others.

• Vicious and infernal circle where violence feedshatred and hatred feeds violence, with a highnumber of traumatised people.

What to do?

Refocus on the mind to build a

desire for peace

Use of non-violent means

Reimagine a peaceful future

Care for each other

Reinvent living together

Reinforce critical thinking

An holistic approach to Peace Education

• In this context, peace education needs to have a broader and more holisticapproach.

• Both formal and informal Peace Education approaches exist, both need to beemployed to be successful.

• Peace Education approaches need to be creative and adapted to the realityof the context

• Combining approaches that focus on interpersonal and intergrouprelation-building is key:

o Using Participatory Action Research (PAR) is important to separate facts from emotions

o Peer mediation by individuals transformed into peace agents

o Improving communication and listening capacities

o Minimising the distance between citizens and decision-makers

o More importantly, creating spaces that form peacebuilding infrastructure that is grounded in, andowned by, communities

Transformative peace education in challenging contexts - practical examples

Cross-border dialogue spaces

Policy-engagement of national and regional

decision makers

Focus on youthand CSOs

Peace Education and Peacebuilding:A focus on prevention

Opportunities

• Political will exists, especially incountries in conflict

• There is also a willingness atregional and international level towork on Peace Education, as ourengagement with ICGLR and UNESCOhas shown

• A basic policy framework is in place

• Peace Education provides a goodentry point for dialogue about tabooissues which are crucial for peace

• The environment is favorable forcreating alliances

Challenges and strategic questions

However, we believe that investing in people’s minds and transformation is the foundation for sustainable peace.

Conflict between investing in hard or soft developmental processes. Peace Education requires long term investment and suffers from this prioritisation problem.

Peace Education can be too broad and embrace everything, e.g.conflict resolution, democracy education, human rights education.It is a cross-cutting issue, but where should the focus be?

Pressing humanitarian needs call for urgent action, meaning Peace Education is not a priority.

Conflict dynamics go beyond national borders, therefore peaceeducation must also have a regional dimension.

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process,

gradually changing opinions,

slowly eroding old barriers,quietly building new structures.

John F. Kennedy