April 3, 2023 – At the heart of WPDI’s mandate is a firm conviction that education from a young age is our most potent weapon in the prevention of conflict and social instability. This is why we have endeavored to put in place, in countries and regions where we operate, an integral program of Conflict Resolution Education in primary and secondary schools in countries and regions where we operate. Sustainable peacebuilding programs cannot be successful without the active participation and commitment of local actors, including authorities and community leaders, but most importantly young people eager to create a better future for themselves and their communities, including their families and the schools they attend.
To this effect, in 2022 WPDI continued to extend its Conflict Resolution Education program in the Acholi Sub-Region, Uganda, as part of our wider CRE program in the country. Through this program, our young leaders go into schools where they teach students a wide array of skills to promote peace in their environment, including managing peer mediation programs that help reduce violence within schools or anti-bullying initiatives that help to make schools safer and more welcoming. In 2022, the program benefitted 5,694 pupils across 35 schools in the 9 districts of the region. Its success is notable in the fact that many headmasters and teachers reported to us how the program had benefited their schools not just in terms of improved relations among students, but also in terms of improved learning outcomes.
Last month, a special ceremony for the best performing primary school was organized by the honorable member of parliament for the Gulu district and the school management team from Omoti Hills primary school, in recognition of the significant contribution of the WPDI peacebuilding program in place since 2022. The academic success of students from Omoti Hills was attributed to the unique experience of participating in the Conflict Resolution training program.
Certificates were also awarded to 90 CRE trainees during the ceremony. “The school has become a peace role model school in our communities and in the entire Gulu district thanks to WPDI’s Conflict Resolution Education training program for both teachers and learners. We are very grateful for being given the chance to build our capacities and ensure that we have sustainable peace in our school and communities,” said Oyet Francis, Chairperson of the School Management Committee, Omoti Primary School.
The event was attended by local leaders and stakeholders. One local councilor from the Patiko Sub-County, Komakech Patrick, said: “As partners in the education sector, l commend WPDI’s commitment to championing for peace in the Gulu district through a series of visible, meaningful and impactful training programs in respective selected schools. The peaceful environment at selected schools has today yielded good academic performance that we are very proud of as a district. Thank you WPDI for the great work.”
Throughout 2023, WPDI Conflict Resolution Education initiatives will remain a pillar of our action to foster lasting peace. Thanks to the support of our partners, both local and international, WPDI has been able to implement concrete measures with quantifiable results* that show how education remains the most effective tool to promote a culture of peace conducive both to tangible results in the present and long-term impact that will last for years if not decades.
*Read our annual report here.
In partnership with
