A Report of IIPE 2019
Introduction
*This is an edited excerpt from the Introduction to the publication. Please download a pdf below for the complete text.
“People of Peace Education” showcases the global efforts of peace educators and seeks to bridge the division that separates practitioners from the general public, in order to raise awareness of the importance of working together for more peaceful societies and alternative futures free from violence and injustice.
This print publication is an inspired effort to creatively document the experience of the 43rd gathering of the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) that took place in July 2019 in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is also the result of the collaboration between the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the IIPE Secretariat. It is a collection of good practices, life stories, and memories of peace educators from all around the world and will hopefully reach a wide audience and inspire change.
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 a 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 the 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.
People of Peace Education (the publication) is complemented by the interactive People of Peace Education website that will be regularly updated with new profiles and videos, and provide more information on the work of peace educators, including details of past and present activities as well as future plans. As the final outcome of the IIPE 2019 experience, this project aims 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.
Loizos Loukaidis
Educational Programs Officer & ‘Imagine’ Project Coordinator (AHDR)
Tony Jenkins
IIPE Managing Director
