August 5, 2021 – Recently, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) conducted trainings in Conflict Resolution Education at 27 primary and secondary schools in Northern Uganda. Designed to empower students and teachers with new tools and skills that will help them become peacemakers not only in their schools but also in their communities, the program has been overwhelmingly successful, with 313 teachers and 1,426 students trained thus far. Conducted in partnership with the Education Above All Foundation, the hallmark of this ambitious program is to rely on the talent and energy of our Youth Peacemakers, a cohort of dedicated young women and men who form an indispensable vanguard to disseminate values of peace and reconciliation even in the most local and remote places affected by conflict.
The trainings – which were conducted over the last several months under our Conflict Resolution Education in Schools program – aim to help both students and teachers gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles of non-violence and tolerance. These instill in them the notion that the challenges and conflicts they encounter in their daily lives can be resolved using peaceful means. This reflects our approach that, while peacebuilding is a universal responsibility of all citizens irrespective of their age, occupation, or status, it is not, however, just a naturally-born skillset: it is a learned set of values, attitudes, and behaviors that form a culture of peace, tolerance, and dialogue. In post-conflict Northern Uganda, which still bears the scars left by decades of civil conflict, teaching Conflict Resolution Education in primary and secondary schools is all the more vital to nurture a new generation of citizens and leaders whose global consciousness of the world’s challenges and capacity for local initiative will undoubtedly help transform their communities for good.
With this in mind, WPDI’s cohorts of active Youth Peacemakers in Northern Uganda’s Acholi Sub-Region, Karamoja Sub-Region, and in and around the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement have been holding training workshops since May. They have trained more than 1,700 students and teachers in topics like conflict and its sources, mediation, empathy, and power dynamics. Each workshop is practical and interactive, allowing participants to put into practice what they learned during the two months of training they received. “The workshop was my first formal training in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and as a result, I have a newfound love for peace,” said Jennifer, a teacher at Lukome Secondary School. “I shall use my new skills to constructively resolve conflicts at school and in my community.” Another teacher, Francis, expressed a similar line of thinking, sharing that “Following the training, I am truly a changed person. I have to say that I used to have a short temper and poor communication skills, but after I learned about emotions and diversity, I have more appreciation for people around me and their differences.”
As thousands more people in Northern Uganda – and especially young people – continue to participate in WPDI’s Conflict Resolution Education in Schools program, we plan to expand the initiative’s impact even further.
