February 3, 2023 – Creating conditions for sustainable peace to flourish in regions that have been fraught with instability and conflict for years if not decades is a huge challenge. It means helping local institutions rethink their approach to education, teachers and students with specific tools and skills in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. These tools are often new and alien to individuals who have, throughout their lives, mostly known insecurity, violence and uncertain futures. Because change, in this regard, cannot happen overnight, WPDI has committed itself to fighting for these people’s futures by mobilizing the power of education.
WPDI operates educational initiatives featuring notably conflict resolution education and vocational training programs, all around the globe, from Africa to Mexico, France to the United States, in areas in need of transformative development. In 2022, for example, WPDI ran a series of peace education workshops across 82 schools in Uganda. The program benefited 10,999 students and was focused on equipping them with practical knowledge and skills in conflict resolution in order to promote peaceful co-existence in schools and encourage grass roots peace in local communities.
By empowering pupils and students as peer mediators and advocates for peace, these initiatives can be life changing for them, both because they positively affect daily interactions with their peers and because they transform their schools into more peaceful communities. “We are more peaceful at school thanks to this WPDI conflict resolution training program. The number of conflict incidents has largely reduced after this training on peace and the peace clubs formed continue advocating for peaceful coexistence and respect for human rights,” said Komakech Patrick, a student trainee at Kitgum Progressive Secondary School.
Empowering young people to become agents of change is crucial to our strategy for sustainable development, as it ensures that they will be the torch bearers of peace in their community today and and in the future: we are convinced that each individual has intrinsic power for fostering peace, provided she or he is equipped with appropriate skills and knowledge. “The training has empowered me with good skills in peace mediation and l will confidently use the knowledge to help my peers in conflict resolution at school and my community,” said Brown Benard Otika, a student trainee at Gulu College School in Gulu city.
In 2023, WPDI is aiming high. We will be continuing and expanding our peace education initiatives around the globe, helping bring light to people who need support in their search for a brighter future.
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