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The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization which provides an umbrella for regional political dialogue that can then be transformed into strategic cooperation in a variety of areas, including conflict resolution education. Education, while a right in the Americas, still faces challenges in terms of improving quality, efficiency and equity. Citizenship education is a critical component in the democratization process. The OAS has played an important role in building a democratic and peace culture in the Americas through its Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices which was adopted at the Ministers of Education meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in 2005 and ratified by the OAS at its General Assembly meetings in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. The program is a hemispheric alliance of private and public sector representatives with the long term goal to promote and strengthen the creation of a culture of democracy through education.

GPPAC, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, has five main program areas including: peace education and conflict resolution education, preventive action, dialogue and mediation, and human security. The Peace Education working group, which was represented at this meeting, focuses on five main goals: building the capacity of regional educators and practitioners, exchanging resources, promoting good practice and collaboration between NGOs and Ministries of Education, supporting exchanges between countries, and supporting and organizing regional conference. A brief overview of global initiatives is provided.

In 2001 in the Ukraine, a new course, the “Culture of Neighborhood” was developed. Its development, approval and implementation provide a good example of successful partnerships among the Ministry of Education, civil society organizations and educational and scientific institutions.

Trinidad and Tobago is coordinating an Organization of American States (OAS) funded project, “An Inter-Sectoral Approach to Fostering a Democratic Culture in Schools and Local Communities in the Caribbean”. The goal of the project is to contribute to local government and the education system through capacity- building and policy development in democracy, citizenship, and conflict education, focusing on youth in schools and communities in St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

In the Philippines, Executive Order (EO) 570 “Institutionalization of Peace Education in Basic Education and Teacher Education”, was signed in 2006. To achieve this breakthrough, cooperation among non-governmental peace educators, the Department of Education and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) was forged. This cooperation took the form of in-service trainings, the creation of a Peace Education network and joint projects. Then OPAPP prepared the draft of the Executive Order for the Philippine President’s approval. The main goals of the Executive Order are: to mainstream peace education in the curriculum of basic education and teacher education and to enhance the knowledge and capacity of supervisors and teachers through the conduct of in-service trainings. Since the EO was signed, steps have been taken to achieve its main objectives.

Panama is one of the countries working within the Organization of American States (OAS) framework for “Armanda Paz” or “Building Peace”. The regional project has been incorporated into the President’s new policy on security as one of their major prevention efforts. The program aims to provide youth with an opportunity to gather together and express their voices against violence, have opportunities to engage in learning new skills in sports, arts and education, and feel as though they have a stake in identifying what is needed to prevent violence.

The Nansen Dialogue Center Montenegro, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Bureau for Educational services, has been implementing peace education programming. These programs combine teacher training and whole school approaches. Significant regional achievements have taken place including: the signing of the Declaration on Joint Cooperation and Cooperation with Civil Society Organizations signed by the deputy Ministers of Education and Science in Montenegro and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia. In addition, the first cross regional peace education exchange took place, organized by the Integration and Development Centre from the Ukraine and the Nansen Dialogue Center Montenegro along with support from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC). The exchange was titled “School with Peace Education Brings Peace to the Society”.

The goals of the education system in Kenya are to foster nationalism, patriotism and promote national unity. It also aims, among other things, to promote individual development and self fulfillment, sound moral and religious values, social equality and responsibility, and respect for and development of Kenya’s rich and varied cultures. Efforts to more fully integrate peace education into schools and education policy started in 2001 with the establishment of the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management within the Office of the President in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). A new peace education program was officially launched in December of 2008.

Approximately two years ago, the President’s office in Guatemala initiated a new program, Open Schools. The program, administered by the Social Welfare Office in the President’s office, is a collaboration among the Ministries of Education, Communication, and Culture and Sport. The aim of the project is to provide Guatemalan youth with new tools that enable them to grow and develop while offering viable alternatives to poverty, violence, delinquency and the lack of educational opportunities.

An overview of the Ministry of Education’s efforts in Ghana to provide relevant and quality education for all Ghanaians. Efforts continue to create a separate peace education course, while to date, peace education, problem solving and values education have been integrated into several classes. Teachers receive training during their teacher preparation to ensure that they are familiar with the content and are capable of providing this material to students.

The aim of the education system in Costa Rica is to develop critical, responsible and creative people who are able to make decisions and live peacefully and respectfully in a diverse democracy. One example of this new programming is the “School in Our Hands” model. This model, currently in 64 secondary education schools, is focused on a rights based approach with an aim to promote coexistence and human rights and enable students to practice democracy through modeling in student government as well as learn how to express themselves in a variety of ways through the arts.

The aim of the education system in Costa Rica is to develop critical, responsible and creative people who are able to make decisions and live peacefully and respectfully in a diverse democracy. The curricular reform efforts have focused on ethics, aesthetics and citizenship. These themes are carried out in the new curricular revisions in civics education, arts, music and physical education.

Two initiatives were presented: a national values education program and a state government strategy in Australia on Education for Global Multicultural Citizenship.