CREATIVE PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

 Organized annually since 2006  Organized as part the Utrecht University Summer School Program  Target group: - Professionals in the peace and human rights sector - International students - Others interested  Course director: Marloes van Houten The Course

“[S]ince wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” Background Creative Peace & Human Rights Education:  Based on the ideas: - Peace can be learned - Peace is a human responsibility  Origens can be found in the Englightenment  Education as part of the problem of human aggression and as part of the sollution.  Focusses on: - Content of the subject - Teaching process/methods of teaching - Context in which teaching takes place

Content  First week: Theories and backgrounds related to: Culture of Peace/Culture of War  Second week: Themes and Practices CPE/HRE  Red thread: Art/creative approaches (understand violence; develop responses to it; prevent it)

Themes  Culture of Peace/Culture of War  Violence and Nonviolence  Prejudices, discrimination and a Culture of Diversity and Tolerance  Human Rights: A Moral Agenda for Peace  Children’s rights at stake  Creativity/Art and PE/HRE  Youth work towards a COP  Gender, Peace, and Education

Objectives of Learing  Gain Knowledge: - Contextual  Develop Skills: - Implicitely (by the method of teaching) - Explicitely (explanation)  Specific skills build (introduction): -Critical analysis of the violent potential of cultures and its justifications; -Dialogue as a method to overcome prejudices, tensions and escalation of conflicts; -Nonviolent strategies for conflict resolution; -Conditions of learning and teaching peace; -Using creative/artistic means for awareness raising and social change -Civil peace action and society building. “Giving people the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to act as a positive and effective agent of social change.”

Methodology  The group itself as an important learning experience  Teaching and learning methods: –Lectures, excursions and debates –Learning by sharing experiences –The student and teacher are both facilitators of learning –Communication in different ‘languages’ –Individual study, using library, internet and other sources of information “The HHH approach: Learning with your head, heart and hands”

Learning with your Head  Lectures from socially engaged academics and practitioners to provide students with ample background knowledge  Opportunities for students to share their experiences and knowledge  Case studies, examples of peace education to see how knowledge can be implemented

Learning with your Head “Both student and teacher as learning facilitators.”

Learning with your Heart  Learning from the stories of the others in the group  Critical reflections during experimental learning exercises: - blindfolding game - Musicians without Borders & expressive arts therapy - Warchild, games & healing from the past - ‘Human images’ & overcoming conflict - Fort Democracy: interactive installation - personal peace mantra  Student helping other students overcoming their obstacles to fully participate  Building trust and friendship

Learning with your Hands  Movement based learning  Music as a form of dialogue  Visual arts (images, drawing, collages and comic making) to analyze conflict / violence  Social action: - BeachWalk4Peace - Picknick4Peace  Storytelling on discrimination and tolerance

Learning with your Hands

Student Feedback Tria Rani (Indonesia): “I think the summer school experience has affirmed my passion […] for peace education. I[t] inspired me to re-focus on what I want to contribute to the field and how.” “I was inspired to use Prof. Ido's Abram Arena Model and ‘the identity circle’ activity as an approach to create multicultural learning.”

To Conclude Results:  Students respond successfully to informal and formal teaching methods  Students feel encouraged to use the educational methods and techniques learned to their work  Through sharing experiences among each other, students and facilitators can relate more personally to the more theoretical aspects of the course.

Contact Information Marloes van Houten – Course Director Facebook: Peace and Human Rights Education –Utrecht Summer School Summer School Utrecht