"We have to keep in mind that children on the move are first and foremost children and their rights move with them!" Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children
A webinar series on Resilience and Children on the Move, took place from September to November 2021, gathering more than 350 participants in three sessions. Throughout the sessions, participants shared experiences and best practices to support, protect and nurture the physical, socio-emotional, and spiritual well-being of children on the move.
A booklet titled Solidarity: Advancing the Role of Education in Fostering Migrant and Refugee Inclusion in Europe, was launched in November 2021 as part of a project to support educators and policymakers working with migrants and refugees in Europe.
More than 900 educators, children and young people, policymakers, religious leaders, faith-based and civil society organizations, academic researchers, and multilateral agencies gathered online at the global symposium Transforming Education: Ethics Education for Learning to Live Together, which was held from 22 to 23 November 2021.
Nurturing ethical values and children’s spiritual development can make a difference in the lives of children, their families, and their communities. With this in mind and responding to the needs of our partners in the field, Arigatou International – Geneva adapted its Learning to Live Together program for the middle childhood years. After a two-year-long process, the adaptation of the program was launched on 23 November 2021, during the Transforming Education Symposium.
A diverse group of members of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) from Chile, Colombia and Ecuador participated in an introductory workshop on the Learning to Live Together Programme.
On Thursday, 24 June 2021, a panel of experts gathered online in the framework of the 47th session of the Human Rights Council to reflect on the role of inclusive education in supporting migrants and refugees. The event focused on identifying the main challenges and opportunities to implement educational policies and programs that foster inclusive education as a central response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 130 people from 45 countries attended the event, which was organized by Arigatou International Geneva, with the support of the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies, KAICIID Dialogue Centre, and the Government of Cyprus. The discussion was moderated by Professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Senior Advisor at KAICIID Dialogue Centre.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of children around the world? Thirteen children from two different countries, cultural backgrounds and faiths gathered online on 26 April 2021 to answer this question and to provide recommendations on how parents, teachers, governments, and institutions can support children in navigating through the challenges of the current times.
On 9 March 2021, Arigatou International Geneva’s Executive Director, Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe was invited to partake in an online webinar hosted by Shanti Ashram. The webinar was the third installment in a series called the Interactive Knowledge Update. This session, entitled The Rationale and Impact of Successful Convening, focussed on the concept of convening. Defined as the act of bringing people together, usually for a public purpose, convening has come to occupy a critical role for many international organizations.
The second webinar of “Solidarity: An ethical imperative for advancing the role of education in migrant and refugee inclusion in Europe” was carried out on 21 April 2021 with more than 50 participants from different fields of work related to education.
The online module “SOLIDARITY: An ethical imperative for advancing the role of education in migrant and refugee inclusion in Europe," kicked off on 17 March 2021, gathering 98 participants from Europe and beyond.
Under the title "The role of education in promoting learning to live together among migrant, refugee and host communities in Europe," this first session aimed at building a dialogue on the role of education in strengthening coexistence and interconnectedness between people from different backgrounds, and to promote learning to live together among migrant, refugee and host communities in Europe.
Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe, Executive Director of Arigatou International Geneva, was invited by Mindful Educators - Sri Lanka, to lead the third of a series of online learning sessions on Ethics, Values & Inclusivity in Education. The session was held on 18 February 2021 and aimed at guiding educators towards using mindfulness-based practices in the classroom.
A second round of the advanced online training of trainers on “Design and Delivery” for higher education teachers was held on 15 – 18 February 2021. This time, the workshop was carried out in French and Arabic language, reaching 25 participants from the northern African countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
These online workshops are being organized together with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), in the framework of the Higher Education on Peace and Resilience Building and Prevention of Violent Extremism project.
Arigatou International Geneva was invited to facilitate an online workshop for children from Indonesia on “Peace, diversity and solidarity during the pandemic.” The workshop was held on 10 February 2021 and was organized by educators belonging to the UNESCO Associated School Project Network (ASPnet) and several other partners.
The webinar aimed to help children become more aware of how they can respond to the social reality of the pandemic by focusing on peace, appreciation of diversity and fostering a sense of solidarity. Children took an active role in the organization and coordination of this webinar. They led the ice breakers and supported the facilitation of the session.
Arigatou International Geneva, together with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), held an advanced online training of trainers on “Design and Delivery” as a follow up of a series of workshops on Higher Education on Peace and Resilience Building and Prevention of Violent Extremism. The online training took place between 8-11 February 2021 and included 10 educators from Egypt and Libya.
On 24 July 2020 a webinar on Intercultural and Interfaith Education was organized by World Vision Colombia in collaboration with Arigatou International Geneva, the Ministry of Interior of Colombia and the Interreligious Movement in Favor of Children in Colombia.
Arigatou International, together with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), held an online workshop of six sessions from 1 to 11 December 2020 on 'Transformative Pedagogy for Peacebuilding.' The workshop aimed at 34 participants from Ministries of Education, Universities, UNESCO National Commissions and UNESCO in Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
As part of the Dialogues of Knowledge and Learnings 2020, Defence for Children International (DCI) in Costa Rica, together with UNICEF Costa Rica and the National Patronage for Children, organized on 20 August 2020 a webinar on the Right of Children and Adolescents to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religions for Latin America and the Caribbean, as stated on Article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The G20 interfaith forum is an annually held event that seeks to build on the vital roles that religious institutions and beliefs play in shaping the world we live in. Given the current restrictions, the summit was held online in October 2020.
“Everyone needs to be educated ‒ the leaders, the public, the children, the youth, the elite and the masses. Formal education as well as non-formal education has a great role to play in bringing about peace and disarmament in the present-day world. We are all members of one human family. United we stand and divided we fall.”
Dr. M. Aram,
Founder President, Shanti Ashram
With Dr. Aram’s words as a reference line for the discussions, the series of webinars titled “Leaders Dialogue – Active Peace Building for Community Cohesion in the Midst of COVID-19” kicked off on Tuesday, 22 July 2020. The Leaders Dialogue aimed at listening to one another and sharing notes from leadership experiences, guided by the premise that leaders multiply leaders. In unprecedented times like the COVID 19 Pandemic or in everyday encounters, such dialogue creates an environment of reflection, mutual learning and recommitment to action, active peacebuilding, and community cohesion.
Every year, the 21st of September marks the International Day of Peace. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a universally shared date in which all citizens of the world re-commit to Peace above all and to set aside differences to contribute to building a Culture of Peace. In recognition of the goals of Peace Day a webinar was organized by the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM), the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kenya (MoEST). The theme of this year's Day of Peace was "Shaping Peace Together".
Arigatou International - Ethics Education for Children, together with End Child Poverty launched in September 2020 the Children’s Solutions Lab, an opportunity for children and youth from different backgrounds to come together to discuss, learn, and take action against child poverty through education backed solutions
The global pandemic has brought a halt to many important aspects of life and imposed major obstacles to organizations all over the world, yet the work done by Arigatou International and its partners remains unflinching. Nowhere is this best epitomized than the work done in collaboration with our GNRC Youth Committee. These dedicated young people have taken an active role in helping secure the rights of children around the world. During the last six months, we have seen members of the GNRC Youth Committee in a wide array of workshops, meetings, and dialogues all while facing their own obstacles imposed on them by the COVID-19.
Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe, Executive Director of Arigatou International Geneva was invited to contribute to the Week of Prayer and World Fellowship, which took place from 8 to 14 November 2020.
Since 1904, the Young Woman's Christian Association (YWCA) and the Young Man's Christian Association (YMCA) have traditionally come together to deliver the World Week of Prayer and World Fellowship. This year, the Week extended an invitation to communities to use biblical text to shed light on the lived experiences of those affected by the global pandemic. These contributions were compiled into a booklet entitled Rays of Hope: Creating Resilient Communities Through Practical Spirituality, which can be accessed here.
For a third consecutive year, Arigatou International Geneva participated at the Geneva Peace Week, which has held online from 2 to 6 November 2020. This year's theme was "Rebuilding trust after disruption: Pathways to reset international cooperation" with the aim of galvanizing leadership, building trust, and working towards international collaboration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The International Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence is developing a toolkit on the spiritual development of children in the early years to foster their well-being and help prevent violence in child upbringing. The toolkit seeks to provide faith-based actors with concrete guidance, tools and examples about how to work with faith communities to nurture the spiritual development of children as well as to contribute to the prevention of violence in early childhood. The ultimate goal of this toolkit is to contribute to children’s holistic development and well-being.
