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Peace Education for Youth: A Toolkit for Advocacy and Planning

15 August 2023

In 2022, the Global Campaign for Peace Education identified a concerning gap between youth’s desire for peace education and its implementation in their schools and communities. To mitigate this, the Global Campaign Youth Research Team developed ‘Peace Education for Youth: A Toolkit for Advocacy and Planning’ to support students across the world in advocating for the integration of peace education opportunities in their schools, universities, and communities.

This 35-page “living” toolkit was designed to provide information on what peace education is, how it might be practically implemented, and how to advocate for it in various contexts.

The Young Peacebuilders Guide To Tackling Harmful Narratives

18 January 2023

The Young Peacebuilders’ Guide to Tackling Harmful Narratives entails a concrete step-by-step methodology and tools to support young peacebuilders in their fight against harmful narratives, as well as four concrete alternative narrative campaigns that were developed by United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) members.

Rather than creating the umpteenth resource that sheds light on the issue of harmful narratives, this by-youth-for-youth guide is a collaborative document that encapsulates the work and input of 11 UNOY members who took part in UNOY Peacebuilders’ capacity development programme—Youth Promoting Peaceful and Cohesive Societies in Europe—held between April and June 2022, as well as the insights of experts in disinformation and media development at large.

High School Mediation Manual – Spanish Language Edition

16 August 2017

This mediation training manual, developed by the Washington Heights Inwood Coalition Mediation Program, is the product of ten years experience teaching mediation skills to secondary students in New York. The school program worked mostly with Latino students, newcomers to the country. So the trainings have been in Spanish. The material and activities of this program are designed to prepare high school students as mediators. The basic mediation skills taught and practiced are the same as in adult training.  It updates and adapts the lessons and activities to the level of development and interests of students.

Young Community Mediators Peer to Peer Mediation Curriculum

5 August 2017

Young Community Mediators is a regional EU-based group established with the purpose of equipping young people age 16-30 with the knowledge and skills to become peer mediators, empowering the youth of society to play a greater role in addressing conflict in the community around them thus helping to create a brighter future.

This 85-page PDF guide initially focuses on the trainer through a training delivery support-focused section. Following on from the tutor support guidelines is the Young Community Mediators Peer to Peer Mediation Curriculum which consists of five modules. The first Module is designed as an introduction module where participants are welcomed on to the programme and facilitated to engage as a group. They are introduced to the area of conflict, mediation and to the peer to peer mediation process. At the initial stage the trainer will conduct an audit of the participant’s level of understanding and knowledge of peer to peer mediation. Modules 2-5 are concentrated on the main themes and skills required to deliver a youth peer to peer mediation resolution process successfully. The modules are;
– Introduction & Welcome
– Understanding Conflict
– Peer Mediation & Listening Skills
– Overview and process involved in the Peer Mediation Event
– Decision Making & Teamwork
The modules are each designed as 4-hour peer mediation training sessions. Each module commences with a tutor module overview containing a module descriptor with the individual learning objectives/outcomes. Learning objectives/outcomes spell out exactly what should be achieved by the learning event.

Completing the Circle Manual for Conferencing with Children Under 12

28 January 2014

This guide was developed as part of the research project Completing the Circle, Breaking the Cycle: Conferencing for Children at Risk that ran from 2002-2004 as part of the Child and Youth Worker Program at George Brown College in Toronto. The guide provides tips and advice on working with younger children (age 12 and below) using restorative practices. More information on the project is available via Just Us at justusrestorativepractices.weebly.com/writings-and-articles.html

Youth Leadership Development Module on Conflict Management

2 September 2012

This 38-page pdf on conflict management strategies for youth leaders was provided as a handout for a May 2008 training for youth in Namibia. The event was sponsored by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and facilitated by C.T. Bayer & B.T. Schernick. The materials include several creative visualizations of conflict resolution concepts.

Useful Tools for Engaging Young People in Participatory Evaluation

4 March 2012

This 42-page pdf provides an overview of strategies for involving young people in evaluation research and then provides details on a specific set of tools that have proved particularly useful. Included are activities such as Card Visualization, Smiley-face Scale, Testimonials/Stories, Impact Drawings, Historical Timeline, Social and Community Mapping, Trend Analysis and Force-field Analysis. The guide is illustrated with photographs of various youth groups engaged in these evaluation activities. Also provided are some examples of ice-breakers and energizers to help engage and motivate participants.

Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – High School Edition

22 February 2012

The Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators is designed to support the work of educators as peacebuilders. It is a resource developed by and for educators, to help introduce peacebuilding themes and skills into the classroom. The Toolkit can help develop students’ understanding of, and interest in, global peacebuilding, and develop their skills and capacities to act as peacebuilders. It can help teachers develop their own understanding of key concepts and skills, and enhance their capacity to teach about global peacebuilding themes and issues. There are two volumes of the toolkit––one for middle school and one for high school.

The High School Edition of the toolkit is designed for a general audience of students in grades 9–12 (ages 14–18). The content can be modified for older students and some of the content can be modified for younger students. High school students are at an ideal stage to talk about peace and conflict, to view the world as an evolving system of relationships, and to prepare themselves to make a positive impact through their choices and actions today and in the future.

The lessons have been developed with great detail to be useful for educators who are new to the methods employed that engage students in experiential learning and critical thinking. The toolkit is organized around basic themes within the field of international conflict management.
Theme 1: Conflict is an inherent part of the human condition.
Theme 2: Violent conflict can be prevented.
Theme 3: There are many ways to be a peacebuilder.

The 15 lessons in the toolkit are interactive and encourage students to work collaboratively to understand concepts and solve problems. The lessons are designed to be detailed enough for a new teacher or a teacher unfamiliar with interactive or experiential methods to pick them up and use them as intended.

Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – Middle School Edition

22 February 2012

The Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators is designed to support the work of educators as peacebuilders. It is a resource developed by and for educators, to help introduce peacebuilding themes and skills into the classroom. The Toolkit can help develop students’ understanding of, and interest in, global peacebuilding, and develop their skills and capacities to act as peacebuilders. It can help teachers develop their own understanding of key concepts and skills, and enhance their capacity to teach about global peacebuilding themes and issues. There are two volumes of the toolkit––one for middle school and one for high school.

The Middle School Edition of the toolkit is designed for a general audience of students in grades 6–8. The content can be modified for older students and some of the content can be modified for younger students. Engaging young audiences in conversations about peace and conflict is important. It is the authors’ hope that young students will engage in these topics and continue to reflect on them as they progress through high school and move into the world. The lessons have been developed with great detail to be useful for educators who are new to the methods employed that engage students in experiential learning and critical thinking. The lessons are intended for traditional and alternative education settings. The toolkit is organized around basic themes within the field of international conflict management.
Theme 1: Conflict is an inherent part of the human condition.
Theme 2: Violent conflict can be prevented.
Theme 3: There are many ways to be a peacebuilder.

The 15 lessons in the toolkit are interactive and encourage students to work collaboratively to understand concepts and solve problems. The lessons are designed to be detailed enough for a new teacher or a teacher unfamiliar with interactive or experiential methods to pick them up and use them as intended. The middle school lessons include teacher direction, guided practice, and independent practice.

Gender Toolkit: A manual for youth peace workers

22 January 2012

This guide aims to provide flexible and context-sensitive tools for supporting awareness and gender mainstreaming in youth peacebuilding organisations. It address the challenge of how to include a “gender lens” in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of different projects while integrating gender issues at the structural and organisational levels. These challenges can be addressed first by acknowledging their existence and making corrective entries to the organisations’ apparatus of power, and secondly by transforming the challenges into something positive and productive.

The 69-page guide provides a short overview of internal gender mainstreaming and gender mainstreaming in project management backed up by checklists and annotated resources in every section, best practices and trouble-shooters, as well as tips, quotes and advice. An appendix provides some activity modules that will lend a hand in addressing gender issues in organisations and projects.

Something is Wrong – Exploring the Roots of Youth Violence

24 November 2010

A 382-page pdf curriculum guide addressing violence in the lives of youth. From the introduction:” The Chicago Freedom School, Project NIA and Teachers for Social Justice have partnered along with other volunteers to develop a curriculum guide in order to contribute to the ongoing efforts by young people and their adult allies to analyze the root causes of youth violence and to create local solutions”

The authors “wanted to create a curriculum that would provide a holistic view of violence in the lives of young people across a number of arenas. Through this curriculum, we want to challenge youth to think about a) the roots of violence in their lives; b) the enforcers and victims of violence; c) the effects of violence on both victims and perpetrators; and d) how violence can ultimately be minimized through systemic changes.”

Summary of Core Skills For Conflict Work

27 October 2010

Peaceworkers UK developed this detailed description of the Core Skills they consider essential for Conflict Work and the vocational standards associated with them.
Core Skill 1: Research Skills
Core Skill 2: Written Communication
Core Skill 3: Verbal Communication
Core Skill 4: Self-Management
Core Skill 5: Conflict Management
Core Skill 6: Observation Skills
Core Skill 7: Teamwork
Core Skill 8: Cultural Sensitivity
Core Skill 9: Gender Awareness

Kit of Tools For Participatory Research and Evaluation with Children, Young People and Adults

27 July 2010

Four countries in four regions where Save the Children Norway is working have participated in a Thematic Evaluation on Children’s Participation in armed conflict, post conflict and peace building – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guatemala, Nepal and Uganda. The research tools developed and used in this project are contained in this ‘kit’ which has been developed collaboratively by the global researchers and the four country teams. It has been enriched, adapted and expanded by contributions from the children, young people and adults. For each tool the objectives are explained, the time and materials needed, key steps to be taken and facilitators notes. There is also a section where users have made their comments on the usefulness, or otherwise, of the tool.

I Painted Peace: Handbook on Peace Building with and for Children and Young People

27 July 2010

This 72-page illustrated handbook has been designed and developed together with children and young people for children and young people. It is, however, also meant to be of use and interest to adults. The children and young people involved in the production of this handbook would like to promote, build and sustain peace in their local communities, schools, districts, and nations. The handbook may be most suitable for children and young people aged 12 years and upwards.

The idea behind this handbook is to encourage more adults to listen to girls’ and boys’ voices carefully and seriously and to work with them as partners in creating and sustaining peace. In this way, the handbook helps to promote children’s participation leading to the better fulfilment of children’s rights.

Children’s contributions are presented in the following sections:
– Children’s visions on peace
– Children’s understanding of peace building
– Children’s understanding of the history and the impact of conflict
– Opportunities for children’s participation in peace building at different levels (individual, family, children’s organisation, school, community, district, national, international) – including examples of activities and the impact of children’s participation at these different levels;
– Assessment of what helps and gets in the way of children’s peace building efforts
– Recommendations and proposals to strengthen children’s role as agents of peace

Unexplored power and potential of youth as peace-builders, The

3 May 2010

29-page PDF article from “Journal of Peace Conflict & Development,” Issue 11, November 2007. Abstract: “Around the world many young people are victims of cultural, direct, and structural violence and become carriers of that violence or perpetration. There is a strong tendency among politicians and researchers to see youth as a problem to be solved. However, many youth are peaceful and peace-builders. Equally affected by various forms of violence, they decide to act constructively towards building a culture of peace. Youth are underestimated as positive agents of change and key actors in peace-building, both by policy-makers and academics. This paper explores the role of youth as peace-builders, illustrating their unique power and potential to affect social change through a number of examples.”