A four-day capacity building workshop was carried out in Douala, Cameroon on Transformative Pedagogy to Build Peace and Resilience, and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) in Africa.

The workshop, held from 10 to 13 May 2022, was organized by the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa – IICBA in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Yaoundé and Arigatou International – Geneva. This activity is part of the project “Peace and Resilience Building and the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Africa through Teacher Training” led by UNESCO IICBA and supported by the Government of Japan.

The project builds on lessons learned from previous interventions carried out in the Horn of Africa in 2017 and the Sahel region in 2018, also with the support of the Government of Japan. Since the beginning of these interventions, over 6,500 teacher trainers and teachers have been trained in transformative pedagogy, and four teaching guides have been developed.

This workshop was custom-made for French-speaking participants from Burundi, Cameron, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad. Participants included more than 40 university lecturers and representatives from UNESCO offices in the region.

The workshop sought to build capacities to instill peace, build resilience, and prevent violent extremism through education with a focus on teacher training. Specifically, the training targeted faculties of education and university peace institutes in the region. The workshop was based on the guide Youth Empowerment for Peace and Building Resilience and Preventing Violent Extremism in the Sahel and Neighboring Countries: A Guide for Teachers (2019) and its activities.

“The aim of the workshop is to promote within the school, which is a sacred space, the understanding of all the dangers surrounding violent speech and discrimination,” said Mr. Paul Coustere, Director, UNESCO, Regional Bureau for Central Africa.

During the workshop, a group of representatives from civil society organizations and youth-led groups was invited to share their views and reflections on the topic of Education for Peace. “We also have invited a group of young people, because we are talking about violent extremism, and we know that violent extremists recruit, in general, among youngsters because they are vulnerable, they are not rich, and the temptation is very high for them to be recruited through monetary means,” stated Mr. Saliou Sall, Senior Program Coordinator, UNESCO-IICBA.

The workshop equipped participants with the knowledge and skills to understand how issues of peace, resilience and PVE through education manifest and intersect in the region. Through the activities, they identified strategies for peace, resilience building and PVE through education in their own contexts and developed a training session plan using Arigatou International’s transformational pedagogical approach. By the end of the workshop, participants developed a localized action plan to integrate the teacher training curriculum guide into their higher education institutions.

We thank UNESCO IICBA for inviting Arigatou International – Geneva once again, as a technical partner in this project. We thank the facilitators for their dedication and shared wisdom and the participants for their commitment and enthusiasm.

The post Workshop on Peace and Resilience Building in Cameroon to Help Tackling Violent Extremism in Africa appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.

The post Workshop on Peace and Resilience Building in Cameroon to Help Tackling Violent Extremism in Africa appeared first on Arigatou International.

A four-day capacity building workshop was carried out in Douala, Cameroon on Transformative Pedagogy to Build Peace and Resilience, and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) in Africa.

The workshop, held from 10 to 13 May 2022, was organized by the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa – IICBA in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Yaoundé and Arigatou International – Geneva. This activity is part of the project “Peace and Resilience Building and the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Africa through Teacher Training” led by UNESCO IICBA and supported by the Government of Japan.

The project builds on lessons learned from previous interventions carried out in the Horn of Africa in 2017 and the Sahel region in 2018, also with the support of the Government of Japan. Since the beginning of these interventions, over 6,500 teacher trainers and teachers have been trained in transformative pedagogy, and four teaching guides have been developed.

This workshop was custom-made for French-speaking participants from Burundi, Cameron, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad. Participants included more than 40 university lecturers and representatives from UNESCO offices in the region.

The workshop sought to build capacities to instill peace, build resilience, and prevent violent extremism through education with a focus on teacher training. Specifically, the training targeted faculties of education and university peace institutes in the region. The workshop was based on the guide Youth Empowerment for Peace and Building Resilience and Preventing Violent Extremism in the Sahel and Neighboring Countries: A Guide for Teachers (2019) and its activities.

“The aim of the workshop is to promote within the school, which is a sacred space, the understanding of all the dangers surrounding violent speech and discrimination,” said Mr. Paul Coustere, Director, UNESCO, Regional Bureau for Central Africa.

During the workshop, a group of representatives from civil society organizations and youth-led groups was invited to share their views and reflections on the topic of Education for Peace. “We also have invited a group of young people, because we are talking about violent extremism, and we know that violent extremists recruit, in general, among youngsters because they are vulnerable, they are not rich, and the temptation is very high for them to be recruited through monetary means,” stated Mr. Saliou Sall, Senior Program Coordinator, UNESCO-IICBA.

The workshop equipped participants with the knowledge and skills to understand how issues of peace, resilience and PVE through education manifest and intersect in the region. Through the activities, they identified strategies for peace, resilience building and PVE through education in their own contexts and developed a training session plan using Arigatou International’s transformational pedagogical approach. By the end of the workshop, participants developed a localized action plan to integrate the teacher training curriculum guide into their higher education institutions.

We thank UNESCO IICBA for inviting Arigatou International – Geneva once again, as a technical partner in this project. We thank the facilitators for their dedication and shared wisdom and the participants for their commitment and enthusiasm.

The post Workshop on Peace and Resilience Building in Cameroon to Help Tackling Violent Extremism in Africa appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.

The post Workshop on Peace and Resilience Building in Cameroon to Help Tackling Violent Extremism in Africa appeared first on Arigatou International.

A group of 14 educators and representatives of organizations participated in a training workshop on the Learning to Live Together program in Guatemala.

The workshop was held in a blended format in Guatemala City on 9, 10, 11 and 13 May 2022. The activity sought to train facilitators belonging to Puerta de Esperanza, Fe y Alegría and ODHAG, both members of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) in Guatemala.

During the workshop, the participants were able to become familiar with the main concepts of the Learning to Live Together program, its methodologies and its educational approach. “I found particularly interesting that with this approach children are at the center. It reflects on their realities, it provokes transformation,” asserted a participant.

The participants reflected on the violence that affects children and adolescents in the contexts in which they work, and the role that values-based education can play in promoting peace and resilience. “Educating is not just being in front of a group of students, but living together in unity and fraternity,” shared another participant at the end of the workshop.

The workshop is part of a project carried out by Puerta de Esperanza with the support of Toybox, an international NGO that has been working for more than 25 years to help children and young people around the world get off the streets. The project aims to strengthen the protection and resilience factors in children and adolescents who work, live or operate in the “Mercado La Terminal, zone 4” of Guatemala City, through the implementation of Learning to Live Together and its transformative pedagogy.

We thank the facilitators and participants for their commitment and enthusiasm. We hope that this training workshop can provide a basis for the implementation of the project with the children of Guatemala.

The post Members of GNRC-Guatemala Participate in a Training Workshop appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.

The post Members of GNRC-Guatemala Participate in a Training Workshop appeared first on Arigatou International.

A group of 14 educators and representatives of organizations participated in a training workshop on the Learning to Live Together program in Guatemala.

The workshop was held in a blended format in Guatemala City on 9, 10, 11 and 13 May 2022. The activity sought to train facilitators belonging to Puerta de Esperanza, Fe y Alegría and ODHAG, both members of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) in Guatemala.

During the workshop, the participants were able to become familiar with the main concepts of the Learning to Live Together program, its methodologies and its educational approach. “I found particularly interesting that with this approach children are at the center. It reflects on their realities, it provokes transformation,” asserted a participant.

The participants reflected on the violence that affects children and adolescents in the contexts in which they work, and the role that values-based education can play in promoting peace and resilience. “Educating is not just being in front of a group of students, but living together in unity and fraternity,” shared another participant at the end of the workshop.

The workshop is part of a project carried out by Puerta de Esperanza with the support of Toybox, an international NGO that has been working for more than 25 years to help children and young people around the world get off the streets. The project aims to strengthen the protection and resilience factors in children and adolescents who work, live or operate in the “Mercado La Terminal, zone 4” of Guatemala City, through the implementation of Learning to Live Together and its transformative pedagogy.

We thank the facilitators and participants for their commitment and enthusiasm. We hope that this training workshop can provide a basis for the implementation of the project with the children of Guatemala.

The post Members of GNRC-Guatemala Participate in a Training Workshop appeared first on Ethics Education for Children.

The post Members of GNRC-Guatemala Participate in a Training Workshop appeared first on Arigatou International.

—Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children

The world was not on track to end violence against children before the arrival of COVID-19.  It is apparent now that the pandemic threatens to reverse the limited gains made for children. The pandemic is harming children worldwide, affecting the poor and vulnerable children the most. In the words of Mr. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, “what began as a health crisis risks evolving into a broader child-rights crisis.”  And it has. 

The mitigation measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the risk of violence both at home and online. The pandemic is disrupting provision of already limited child protection services everywhere and leaving significant negative effects on children’s mental health and well-being. The immense socio-economic impact of the pandemic is exacerbating child poverty and vulnerability to many forms of violence, including child marriage, child labor, trafficking, recruitment in armed or violent extremist groups, and sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Even though the world was in a different place when the Panama Declaration on Ending Violence against Children was adopted by the participants of the Fifth Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) in 2017, the 10 Commitments co-created with children are relevant today more than ever. We know religious leaders and faith-based communities command extraordinary moral authority, they foster dialogue, help to bridge differences, and influence thinking and behaviour change even during the pandemic. 

We also recognize the tremendous resilience and leadership of children as we are seeing an increase worldwide in children’s engagement: children, deriving from their innate sense of responsibility creativity, and solidarity, are taking an active role in helping each other and their families in the time of pandemic. They are creating awareness, supporting each other, documenting their experiences, helping their communities, and suggesting solutions.

At the same time, far-reaching consequences of the COVID-19 crisis call for children and all dimensions of their rights to be prioritised in the pandemic response and recovery planning. We must ensure that child protection services are identified as essential and life-saving – along with physical health, mental health, education, and justice services – and built on a solid and sustainable social protection system that are considered as investment.  

To do so, strong multi-sectoral mobilization of governments, the international community, civil society, faith-based organizations, and private sector must be steered in this direction. In the Nelson Mandela Lecture in July 2020, the Secretary-General said, “It is clear that countries must make an effort to invest more … for a new generation of social protection policies that can address the dramatic situation of those that are in more poor and more vulnerable conditions.” This must become the principle of a New Social Contract in the post pandemic world, where children and young people live with dignity, enjoy prospects and opportunities and are safe from violence.

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, celebrated annually on Universal Children’s Day on 20 November, provides an occasion for gathering and mobilization of wider partnerships to bring tangible, positive impact on children’s lives and communities around them in the building back better period. 
We need to mobilize all stakeholders in order to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda to end violence against children, leaving no one – no child – behind. The strong commitment to dignity, equality and responsibility of religious communities and faith-based organizations such as Arigatou International and its partners will help influencing thinking and behaviour across nations, religions and faiths to help building back better and to ensure children are involved as an active part in this process. 

The post Let’s invest in inclusive and safe recovery for and with children appeared first on Prayer and Action for Children.

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