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Principles and practices of peace education
Principles and practices of peace education

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1.1 Peace and peace educators

You’ll begin by watching an introduction to peace education by peace educators Izzy and Ellis from Quakers in Britain. As well as working with schools, youth organisations and national governments, Izzy and Ellis co-ordinate the UK’s Peace Education Network, a collection of organisations and individuals working in peace education.

Activity 1 Introducing peace education

Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes for this activity

In this video Izzy and Ellis discuss their ideas about peace and how it informs their approach to peace education.

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Video 1
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Comment

In the video Izzy and Ellis introduced several ideas that you will become familiar with throughout the course. They talked about the relationship between their life experiences and the peace work they have done in different contexts. You might have noticed references to ‘layers of peace’ including personal, community and global peace. You’ll return to this idea of layers of peace at the end of the session.

In the video, Izzy and Ellis talked about what peace means to them. In the following activities you’ll consider what peace means to you as you begin to work through these course materials.

Activity 2 Your ideas about peace

Timing: Allow approximately 20 minutes for this activity

Part 1

Use the box below to note down your initial ideas about what peace means to you. If you like, you might draw your ideas in a notebook, or capture them in a photograph (but you won’t be able to add images or draw in the response box).

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Part 2

Now look at the ideas about peace captured in the quotes and images below (Figures 2-5). What might peace mean in each example?

Described image
Figure 2 A child’s idea of peace
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Figure 3 Famous quote attributed to American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr
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Figure 4 Martin Luther King Jr
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Figure 5 Demonstrators at a peace protest

Comment

There are lots of ways of understanding peace, and to some extent these will arise from people’s life experiences. For example, Martin Luther King Jr spent a lifetime working for the rights of Black people in the US and so the perception of peace in the quote above is related to that struggle. Similarly, the image and writing from the child who wishes to share with their sisters reflects life in their family and what makes them feel peaceful there. The last image of a peace banner at a demonstration might feel a little less ‘peaceful’ but some people might associate peace with activism for social and political change.

Part 3

Now return to your own ideas about peace. Is there anything you might add?

Think about these questions:

  • What might inform your perspective on peace?
  • Which aspects of your life experience do you draw on when you think of peace?
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CPD sessions

With a group, you might use the quotes and images above to start the discussion. However you could use images and objects that capture different ideas of peace that are more relevant to your own context.

Invite your participants to express their ideas in any way they wish. They might draw, find an image on their smartphone or write. You might display the different ideas around the room you are working in to come back to as you work through the session.

There are no right or wrong answers to definitions of peace. As you work through this course, keep your personal ideas in mind. In Session 4 you’ll be asked to consider what peace might mean for your school community or group setting. Activities such as these help communities create shared visions and consider how they might build communities where they can thrive together.