Modeled after the widely acclaimed Humans of New York project, People of Peace Education seeks to elevate the work of peace education to the general public by providing glimpses of the lives and work of peace educators from all around the world. Profiles explore the motivations, challenges, successes, and insights of peace educators working in different contexts.
The project was launched after the 2019 International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) that was held in Nicosia, Cyprus exploring the theme of “Educating for a Culture of Peace in Divided Societies: History, Dialogue, and Multiperspectivity Toward Reconciliation.”
The first 70+ profiles added to this site are the participants of the 2019 IIPE. Their stories are also featured in a print publication (available here), which also serves as the outcome report of the 2019 IIPE. These first profiles explore questions specific to peace education in divided contexts. As the final outcomes of the IIPE 2019 experience, both the website and the publication, aim to motivate others to undertake transformative action in their schools, neighborhoods, communities, towns and countries, and connect with others that share the same vision for sustainable peace.
Project Partners
Humans Of Peace Education (originally launched as People of Peace Education) is a joint project of The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) in partnership with the Global Campaign for Peace Education.
The IIPE
The first IIPE was held in 1982 at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. It was organized by Professors Betty A. Reardon, Willard Jacobson and Douglas Sloan in cooperation with the United Ministries in Education. These professors came together to apply their collective knowledge, wisdom and experience toward addressing the problem of nuclear proliferation. Over the years the IIPE has evolved into a weeklong residential experience for educators hosted in a different country every other summer. The Institute facilitates exchanges of theory and practical experiences in teaching peace education and serves to grow the field. In serving the field, the IIPE operates as an applied peace education laboratory that provides a space for pedagogical experimentation; cooperative, deep inquiry into shared issues; and advancing theoretical, practical and pedagogical applications. Since 1982, the IIPE has been hosted in over 18 countries, gathering hundreds of peace educators together for cooperative learning toward advancing the field of peace education in theory and practice.
The AHDR
The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR), the host of IIPE 2019, is an inter-communal organization whose mission is to contribute to the advancement of historical understanding amongst the public and more specifically amongst children, youth and educators by providing access to learning opportunities for individuals from every ethnic, religious, cultural, social, and ability status. Since its inception, the AHDR, founder of the Home for Cooperation (H4C), has initiated several local peace-building actions and has assisted local peace educators, activists, researchers and academics in having access to numerous opportunities pertaining to the fields of history and peace education. Only in the last three years – through the ‘Imagine’ Project – the AHDR has educated over 5091 students and 961 teachers in Peace Education, while inspiring a culture of peace and non-violence.
IIPE 2019
In July 2019, peace educators and teachers from across the existing divide in Cyprus had the privilege to interact with a diverse, global community of peace educators, peace studies scholars, practitioners, activists, teachers and policymakers as co-learners. The week-long experience in Nicosia, Cyprus has been one of the most diverse learning communities in IIPE history, featuring participants representing identities and affiliations from 33 different countries. The theme of IIPE 2019 had special relevance to the host region, being “Educating for a Culture of Peace in Divided Societies: History, Dialogue, and Multiperspectivity Toward Reconciliation.” This theme presented an opportunity for peace educators to examine the role of education in helping to overcome and transform divisions creatively and a platform for IIPE and AHDR to engage further in history as a vehicle for reconciliation and education for a culture of peace in divided societies. The theme has also been relevant to circumstances of exclusion and division exemplified by the refugee crises being experienced globally; issues of racial, gender, sexual, and religious identity; and heightened nationalism in an increasingly interdependent world struggling to deal with a climate crisis that threatens extinction of life on Earth. During the week-long experience, participants were encouraged to fully immerse themselves in a shared inquiry, and to dive head and heart first into the many pedagogical experiences and diverse approaches to transformative peace pedagogy that have come to exemplify the IIPE experience.
Future Profiles
New profiles will be added to the Humans Of Peace Education on a regular basis. At this time, new profile submissions are by invitation only, however we are always open to recommendations.
Project Coordination / Credits
Humans Of Peace Education is a project developed by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE).
Website
- The website is maintained and updated by the International Institute on Peace Education.
- Web Project Coordinator and Design: Tony Jenkins, IIPE Managing Director
- Video editing: Nareg Kuyumjian
Original print publication
- Project Coordinator:Loizos Loukaidis
- Publication Editors: Martina Cocchi, Tony Jenkins, Loizos Loukaidis
- Proofreading: Kemal Asik, Loizos Loukaidis
- Publication Design: Philippos Vassiliades www.iampin.com/
- For the Turkish version: Translation: Kemal Aşık, Özge Özoğul. Proofreading: Özge Özoğul, Kemal Aşık
- For the Greek version: Translation: Theodora Alfredou. Proofreading: Loizos Loukaidis
Project Funding
The original print publication and website development was made possible with funding from the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany in the context of the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) 2019 hosted by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research in Nicosia, Cyprus between 21 and 28 July 2019.
We are also deeply grateful to all the supporters of IIPE 2019, especially H.E. the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Cyprus, Franz Josef Kremp for his perpetual support; the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, for his patronage; the Head of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Cyprus, Andreas Kettis; the Officers of the Civil Affairs Section of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Arzu Çağın and Marina Vasilara; the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) for the media sponsorship, The Samuel Rubin Foundation and The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation, for their ongoing support of the IIPE; the IIPE Secretariat; the Board, staff and interns of the AHDR; and the staff of the Home for Cooperation and the Home Café.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in the publication and on the website are those of individual educators and do not necessarily represent those of the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany, the International Institute on Peace Education, or the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research.