WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES

The Norwegian Peace Alliance can now offer workshops in Education for Peace for students at Teacher Training College or for teachers. The title our workshop is:

A holistic approach to education for peace?
The object of the workshop is to give the students and teachers ideas about how they can educate their pupils to choose a peaceful way of life. We look at the attitudes, knowledge that need to be built up and the skills that must be trained. We look at a wide range of tools to achieve this, from the daily and weekly routines in the school through games and excercises, to communication and conflict management and cross thematic issues. We look at the United Nations Actionplan for a Culture for Peace, and relate it to the teacher's daily life. The workshop also gives tips on how to influence our pupils to become good global citizens by stimulating their interest in global problems such as the environment, fair distribution and disarmament.

About the workshop:

The workshops are usually divided into two parts: a short theoretical part where we look at why we need to actively include peace in the school curriculum. We look at both international agreements and the globale situation, and we discuss the concept of peace. We look at education for peace: the attitudes, knowledge and skills our pupils need to develope in order to be able to contribute to a more peaceful coexistence with their schoolmates, their families, and in the long run for a global society. We look at the 8 pillars in the UN's action plan for a Culture for Peace - equality, security, education, sustainable development and environment, democratic participation, toleranse and solidarity, and information and communication in relation to today's school program. This theory part is spiced with activities, group work and brainstorming and usually takes up one third of the course day.

The rest of the day is focused on more practical things: we share our experience, giving the students the oppurtunity to try out some of the activities and tools. We explain and demonstrate participatory educational methods and several of the more useful programmes designed for schools (anti-mobbing, anti-drug use, Step for Step etc.). Through both the conrete tips that we give, and the design of the workshop itself we wish to contribute with a variety of tools to the students' perception of and competence in education for peace.

The workshop can vary from 3 hours to a day, and we can design workshops according to the partcipants needs. We can hold the workshop in English or in Norwegian.

Practical information:

We adapt the length of the workshop to your needs. Ideally, a workshop should be at least 4 hours, and should have around 20 participants, so that dialogue and personal contact are optimal. Our workshops can also last from 1-3 several days, and they will then contaim more groupwork where students work out their own educational programmes within the 8 pillars of a Culture for Peace.

The Norwegian Peace Alliance will provide two experienced workshop facilitators, with solid experience also in teaching in schools.

Cost: We request that you cover costs for travel and, if necessary, simple accomodation. Fees can be arranged by agreement.

For further information and to order a workshop, contact info@nowar.no eller ring Barbara Sivertsen +47 97509836.

About the workshop facilitators:

Babs (Barbara) Siversen, was director of the Norwegian Peace Alliance for 4 years, and founded the Working Group for Education for Peace. Originally educated as a biochemist, she studied education and became a science teacher at college level in Nigeria, Colombia and England.
As a result of working in conflict areas she turned to education for peace, and has recently become interested in more robust forms for peacebuilding and peacekeeping, promoting the use of Civil Peace Services to prevent conflicts from becoming violent, rather than sending in the military when it is too late. In the EU context she has worked with ensuring the quality of training of those that are to go out into conflict areas. She is currently working at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, at the Faculty of Law, Oslo University.