Type of Organization: Non-governmental - Non-Profit

Home Country: United Kingdom

Overview

Aik Saath is a youth-run project in London that trains young people to be peer educators around conflict resolution and diversity. It is made up of young people with ages ranging from 12-25. This team of young people are for the most part made up of young Asians from the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu communities due to the historical context from which Aik Saath originated. During 1996-1997 serious violence took place between young people from the Asian community. Over a period of two years at the height of the tensions there were some serious incidents of racial violence. This conflict received national media attention, portraying a negative image of young Asian people in Slough and in turn this had an impact on the rest of the community.

The media attention focusing on the tensions in Slough was best highlighted in a documentary entitled ‘The Peacemaker.’ This was aired on Channel 4 on the 30th of March 1998. The documentary sought to illustrate the tensions between young Asian people in Slough. A renowned international facilitator, Dr. Dudley Weeks was invited by Channel 4 to be the focus of the documentary. His experience and unique methods of conflict resolution enabled him to work with groups of young people who had been involved in the violence. His experiences in Slough led him to recommend the creation of a conflict resolution group, led by young people for young people. This resulted in the formation of the Peer Training Team. Over one hundred young people have been part of the team, training their peers in conflict resolution and anti-racism skills, since 1998. The team trains over one thousand other young people every year.

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