Young People building peace

“There are many children who suffer because they do not know how to act in situations of violence. They are surrounded by violence and poverty but as a peace builder I can teach them that peace is good, that violence is not the only response," says Juan from Tumaco, Colombia.

'Peace builders' in Colombia

In Colombia where armed conflict between militias is a daily occurrence, children grow up accepting that a culture of violence is the norm.

But a Youth As Peace Educators project, developed by Plan and Colombian non-government organisation CINDE, brings a peaceful change to conflict resolution among children and youth. With the project being named a ‘Best Practice’ example by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), the project could also be adopted in other Latin American countries where violence and social unrest has become intrinsic in society, including Haiti.

The project gives youth at risk the opportunity to become peace promoters within their schools and communities, as well as allowing them to experience personal growth by developing their leadership, communication and conflict resolution skills.

Patricia Sanchez, Plan Colombia’s project co-ordinator, says that when children, their families and communities continually live with conflict, violence becomes a common phenomenon in the minds of many.

‘For them, a disagreement can be settled only with force. Obviously too many children grow up with a similar mindset,’ says Patricia.

A meeting of the children taking part in the project

'The Youth as Peace Educators project shows children and young people that there is a different way of solving conflicts – by talking and through understanding,' she says.

During the first phase of the project, youth identify core problems and issues affecting peaceful coexistence in their schools and communities, and design proposals to respond peacefully to them. The proposals are then consolidated into a unified and inclusive module to address the issues. This reflects the idea of youth participants and focuses on the development and strengthening of effective communication skills, values (justice, respect and equality), citizen participation, and creative method to resolve conflicts in school and in the community.

Recreational activities promoting peace

During the second phase of the project, youth implement the module and organise cultural and recreational activities, including sporting events, tournaments that foster peace and tolerance, campaigns against domestic violence, and video-clubs to increase people’s awareness of child and human rights.

‘If adult facilitators told the children to be nice to each other, in all likelihood nothing much would change. That is what they hear from teachers all the time. And this is why we set out to design a peer-to-peer approach in which children and youth are trained to become trainers of others in their age groups,’ says Patricia.

“I like working as a Peace Builder. I don’t think it’s hard. We have fun, we look at the problems and try to find the solutions.

“We hope that the situation in Colombia will change one day with our help,” says Juan, 15, from Tumaco.

However, in many developing countries, especially countries like Colombia where after 40 years it continues to be devastated by conflict amongst armed rebels, education is shuffled to the bottom of the list of priorities. With the help of Plan thousands of children every year get the opportunity to go to school in Colombia.

Funds are spend on building new schools or renovating old ones then stocking these with desks, chairs, books and education materials and teachers are also trained on child-friendly participatory teaching methods.