Educating for a peaceful future

http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/the-role-of-education-in-peacebuilding/

The above link leads to a UNICEF website that has a report which studies the impact of education in conflict areas. 

For many years I have noticed that every society has a form of peaceful conflict resolution within its culture. This cultural knowledge is quickly destroyed when wars are prolonged. I have noticed such a loss of knowledge in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic where war has taken place for decades.

As the loss of life grows so will the cultural knowledge. This loss is not well known or understood but the loss of identity as a people is still there. Through education we can save cultures and identity.  Yet there does exist a side where doing so can prolong wars. We see in Palestine/Israel where the youth are taught to hate the other, this is a poor use of education. So we have to be careful as to the content of the education.

Any form of education that is built upon blaming the other is broken and peace will not be a result. When we engage in such methods of blaming and pointing to past wrongs, I call this "stacking bodies". The end game is who ever has the most bodies stacked up is justified in their actions.  In my mind such a game theory/tactic is useless because each side will be embroiled in such a battle until the no one is left to stack any one. It is a zero sum game.

This is where education is most vital. We need to break those methods. I am not saying we forget, I am saying we take responsibility for the future. The past can not be changed and the future people must be educated in such a manner that they can feel unburdened by our past mistakes. As it stands now in Palestine/Israel, everyone is still carrying the burdens of people two thousand years ago. We have not changed any of the past yet we have killed millions of eachother to prove which side was right or wrong.

At some point the past has to be left there so the future can grow more peacefully. Education is our only method of ensuring we can do that.

Libyians need to talk

Lately I have been working with a group to manage the process of transition in Libya. The main element that is on the minds of most people in Libya deals with the question;  What has been accomplished since the revolt? This question indicates a lack of information getting to the people, difficulties in the management of the process and the presence of the old guard mentality.

It would be unwise to think that violence would not take place in the coming months or years. The reason is because the people (any people in the world) do not change their methods in such a short time frame. Libya still has a large component of people that believe in the same governing style as the past government did. Mix that reality with the strong desire for quick change by the public. That scenario is like putting a match near gasoline.

At the moment there needs to be a very aggressive communication plan set out in tandem with an equal diplomacy effort to all tribes, rebel groups, political parties, religious factions and any other element of society that exists. Both the communication plan and the diplomacy effort need to reach out to as many people as possible.

The message must inform everyone that a period of time is needed to quell the element of violence that is still fresh in peoples’ minds. With that the diplomacy effort needs to ensure that all armed factions are informed as to the process of transition, steps that each faction must take to secure the peace and where they can assist with the transition process.

When and if violence does occur it will most likely start because people are not satisfied with the speed of transition or feel left out of the process. The only tool that is available to ensure violence does not take place is through communication. A government that uses threats of violence dies the same way – just as the past government went. Also it must be acknowledged that this is the time where a relapse of war can take hold. The next few months are tenuous as the patience of the people begins to wear thin, thus the need for a robust effort to reach out extensively.

The communication and diplomacy points to a large education program for the entire country. Goals need to be set, validated, marked and evaluated constantly.  The people need to know what state the police, army and court systems are in. People need to know the people that are in charge and what their plans are. Right now there is not enough information getting to the people and there is no clear idea of what is going on.

Large public events/speeches need to take place. Newspaper articles written, radio and television interviews need to take place. If these actions are not taken we may see violence erupt.