Over 50 people gathered on 1 March for the 15th annual Peace Education Network conference. Delegates travelled from France, Ireland and around the UK to share ideas, resources and enthusiasm for Education for Peace.
After an introductory session in which we shared good news stories, resources and ideas from the last year, various practical workshops were offered.
Together as one
The workshops included one on how history can be used to challenge people’s perceptions of racism and identity, run by Aik Saath, a project based in Slough, which trains young people in conflict resolution skills. Aik Saath means “together as one” in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. In the workshop staff and volunteers shared some of the activities they use to explore racism and identity.
Jaci Smith from the Quaker Peace and Social Witness Peace Education Advisory Programme, also ran a workshop on developing children’s skills for a peaceful classroom in which she shared some of the activities she uses with young people to encourage good listening skills and explore conflict.
Charles Harlock, from Coventry University, spoke about the Peace Partners project and some of the training activities they have used with local teachers.
Anna Liddle, Education Officer for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, shared activities from the CND education pack, to help explore nuclear issues with young people, including one that draws parallels between gun and knife crime and nuclear proliferation.
Martha Beale, from the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) ran a workshop on exploring the ethics of war, looking at how to get young people to think about war from a range of perspectives. In the afternoon we were joined by David Gee, who gave a thought-provoking talk based on his recently-published report into armed forces recruitment practice. The report is available at www.informedchoice.org.uk
and the sister website, which aims to provide information for young people considering an armed forces career, can be found at http://www.beforeyousignup.org.uk.
The Peace Education Network brings together education practitioners and others committed to promoting Education for Peace in schools and the wider community.