“We need more peacebuilders to prevent future violent conflict”

“We need more peacebuilders to prevent future violent conflict”

TransConflict is pleased to present a report from the Peace Channel, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, about its efforts to promote peacebuilding among young people.

 Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT

By the Peace Channel

A three-day Training of Trainers (TOT) on the Fundamentals of Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention and Resolution was organized by Peace Channel, in Collaboration with the North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR). Based on the recent incident of lynching of Syed Sarif Khan on the 5th of March, the training was aimed at capacitating youth as peacebuilders in the context of Nagaland.

Fr. C. P. Anto, Director, Peace Channel and Principal of NEISSR, exhorted the participants to be peacebuilders in their own capacities and prevent all forms of violent conflict. He shared that the attainment of peace also needs human resource like any other developmental program. Thus, the onus is on youth to work for peace and bring development. “Trainings are not only meant to develop the skills, but also the development of aptitude and attitude”, he added. He welcomed all the participants and expressed confidence that they will start thinking for peace, living for peace and working for peace.

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The training was conducted by Dr. Leban Serto, Trainer, Peace Count. Using story telling as a tool of training, he shared stories of people whom we would have taken for granted but have made a great impact on building peace in their own society. He also shared the methods used by those people which at a mere glance be considered as a normal everyday affair. “They have put their hearts and innovations into those activities to yield results of acceptance and reconciliation”, he pointed out. He stressed on the need of being a good story teller to be a peace builder i.e. to help the common people understand the realities of what conflict can do and has done in an objective manner. The whole training too took a participatory approach to help the participants articulate their thoughts and ideas.

The three days training delved into concepts of peacebuilding and understandings of conflict. Success stories and audio visuals testimonials of peacebuilders from across the globe were presented and deliberated. Vision of Peace, Peace Counts in India, Conflict Escalation- Escalation Peacebuilding, peace keeping, peacemaking, media as a tools for peace, Peace education (GCPE), Path into Violence and Path out of violence were some of the topics discussed during the training.

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The trainer also introduced the participants to different international forums, platforms and blogs for peacebuilding. The importance of mass media in building peace was also highlighted during the training. The ‘Learning by doing’ approach of the training was widely appreciated by the participants.

Having discussed with the school authorities, teachers, community leaders, Peace Channel has also decided to reach out to different communities and educational institutions to prepare the youth to transform the culture of violence into culture of peace in our region.

The Peace Channel is a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation.


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