Building Peaceful Societies (2002-2003)

Project Overview

Goal

To promote peaceful living through enhancing the peace-building capacity of NGOs and educational institutions and fostering community-NGO and community-university partnerships for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. The vision behind this project is to assist Afghans to become a problem-solving society. As an education project, activities of the project will aim at raising awareness and sharing knowledge and skills in such a way that would forge peaceful attitudes and behaviors among Afghans. Examples of peaceful behaviors resulting from systematic and long-term peace education include:

1) To avoid violent engagements on household, village, workplace, school and societal levels and to seek creative peaceful solutions

2) To refuse to join armed groups or participate in violent conflicts

3) To become active in seeking non-violent solutions for conflicts in the community

4) To exercise their rights by taking part in community decision- making, make government, political groups, warring factions and NGOs accountable


Objectives

a) To provide specialty level training to 100 key Afghans (25 from NGO community, 25 tribal leaders and clergies, 25 university professors and 25 teachers). Candidates will be individuals who have a natural educational and leadership role and selected by partner organizations in Afghanistan

b) To strengthen capacities of partner organizations (CPAU, SDF, RACA, AUP) in peace education, peace-building and methodology of Evaluating Impact of Peace Education

c) To develop, in collaboration with Afghan partners (see "Partner Organizations"), audience-specific and user-friendly training materials including manuals, booklets, audio- and video-cassettes, CD-Rams and user’s guides

d) To promote culture of peace by provision of peace education to key Afghan groups and individuals (topics will include peaceful ways of resolving Afghan conflicts, hatred and prejudice reduction, psychosocial aspects of hostility, understanding the dynamic of Afghan conflicts and approaches to reconciliation). Audience include government employees, tribal and community councils, community organizations and political groups.


Field Activities and Outputs

March 11- April 14, 2002: Partnership Development and Training (see information below)

May 17- June 05, 2002: Training the trainers and partnership with the Government (I will send you information or I will insert it later)

Field Activities:

March 11- April 14, 2002: Partnership Development and Training

Aims:

1) To finalize a work plan and time line with field partners,

2) To provide "first-exposure" training to a mix of Afghan beneficiaries, and

3) To explore a National Reconciliation program with the Afghan Interim Administration.

Activities:

Aim One: Several meetings were held, in Peshawar and Kabul, with the partner organizations namely the Sanayee Development Foundation (formerly Sanayee Institute for Education and Learning-SIEAL), Research and Advisory Council of Afghanistan (RACA), Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), Afghan University in Peshawar and Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan (CCA). Decision was made that one person each from the above five agencies will form a working group called Building Peaceful Societies Group (BPS-Group)

The BPS-Group will develop a detailed action plan to entail:

 

ACTIVITIES

TIME LINE
1. Develop criteria for recruiting up to 100 Potential Peace Education Leaders (PPEL) April and May 2002
2. Recruit the PPEL for three rounds of training May and June 2002
3. Organize the logistics of training workshops for the trainers of the above organizations and PPELs, on ‘psychosocial aspects of conflict and peace’ (to be led by McMaster team) and ‘conflict prevention and reconciliation’ (to be led by Johan Galtung) Late May 2002

(tentatively)

 
4. Provide training to PPELs on topics such as ‘working with conflict’ and ‘conflict resolution approaches’ July 2002
5. Plan, jointly with McMaster team, production of peace education material including audiovisuals (audiotape, videotape and CD-Rom) August – December 2002
6. Organize and facilitate second and third rounds of training in the field for PPELs (to be jointly led McMaster team and peace educators of the above five organizations) Fall 2002 and Winter of 2003
7. Develop, jointly with McMaster team, training materials including audiovisuals Fall of 2002 and Winter of 2003
8. Organize and lead evaluation and graduation of PPELs Winter 2003
9. Organize logistics of an "Peace Impact Evaluation" workshop Winter 2003
10. Lead the compose and publishing of the peace education materials Spring 2003

According to the decisions the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University will carry out the following:

ACTIVITIES

TIME LINE
1. Provide training in the areas of psychosocial aspects of peace and conflict, reconciliation and conflict prevention Late May 2002, Fall 2002 and Winter 2003
2. Provide technical advise on pedagogical approaches and a Graduation System for PPELs Late May 2002 and Fall 2002
3. Provide training on ‘Peace Impact Evaluation’ Winter 2003
4. Cover all costs of the McMaster trainers and its consultants (TRANSCEND and Queen’s University) March 2002 to June 2003
5. Provide expenses BPS Group for training workshops and logistics March 2002 to June 2003
6. Facilitate ‘Conflict Prevention’ discussions and training with politicians and the Afghan governmental authorities May 2002 to Winter 2003
7. Facilitate participation of the BPS-Group and their organizations in a possible National Reconciliation and Peace Education program through the Afghan Interim Administration March 2002 to June 2003

Aim Two:

Three major training workshops were led on March 29 and April 09 2002 (in Peshawar, Pakistan) and April 09 2002 (in Kabul, Afghanistan).

Around 100 male and female faculty and students attended first workshop, organized by the Afghan University in Peshawar on March 29, from this university. This was a timely follow-up on the five-day workshop of February 2001. The daylong workshop was participatory by design to cover three topics of "Understanding the Afghan Conflict," "Rebuilding Relationships among Afghan Ethnic and Political Groups" and "Conflict Prevention on Interpersonal Level." The audience, broken up in seven groups, discussed each topic in an attempt to answer two important questions. Written summary of discussions were collected from the rap porter of all groups.

First of the three sessions focused on thirteen sets of factors and circumstances that can contribute to initiation and or continuation of violent conflict in Afghanistan. Participants were asked to apply this frame to present situation in Afghanistan and suggest solutions and remedial measures. Second session covered psychosocial sequence of hostility, hatred and prejudice and identified ‘mistaken views and mistaken approaches’ that might have contributed to initiation and continuation of the Afghan violent conflict. Third session discussed factors that unnecessarily damage interpersonal relationships, which may affect the overall dynamic of an armed conflict. The purpose of this (first exposure) workshop was to obtain feedback from the audience on potential usefulness of the topics and to raise their awareness with the hope in change of their view and behaviour. Self-reported feedback was very encouraging. All participants, with no exception, requested written material and provision of such training to all Afghans.

Second daylong workshop was held in partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture. Participants were 30 key personalities from this ministry including heads of departments, directors of the national radio, national TV, Afghanistan News Agency (Bakhter Ajance), Kabul Times (state English language newspaper) and three Afghan governmental newspapers (Hewad, Anis and Arman-e-Mili), political analysts for radio and TV, and a few newscasters. Same three themes as above were discussed and participants were asked for feedback on usefulness. The feedback was unanimously positive and all participants who were leaders of important departments within the Afghan national media expressed interest in one of the two options: 1) a national ‘peace education program’ to be jointly developed by McMaster University and the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information, 2) training on peace and reconciliation to be provided to the key leaders and producers of this ministry.

Third Workshop was held in partnership with the Afghanistan Women Council. Two hundred participants were mostly women from Peshawar-based schools for Afghan girls, NGO community, social and advocacy groups and local Afghan media. Two of the first themes discussed were the same (Understanding the Afghan Conflict and Rebuilding Relationships among Ethnic and Political Groups). The third theme was changed at the request from the partner organization to ‘Understanding the Geopolitics of the Afghan Conflict’. Participants from this participatory workshop also provided encouraging input and demanded expansion of such education to national level and incorporating it into the curricula of schools, colleges and universities.

Several seminars were also provided to small groups such as the group from Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard University; United National Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA/UNIMA); leaderships of the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Afghan Interim Administration (including Deputy Ministers); peace educators from partner organizations; representatives of the former King of Afghanistan; writers and journalists from diverse ethnic backgrounds. On behalf of an association of Afghan publishers and newspapers, the editors of Sahaar and a reporter of Wahdat requested training on peace journalism for their writers, editors and reporters.

Aim Three:

A group of four representing BPS-group and McMaster University travelled to Kabul to hold cabinet level meetings with the leadership of the Afghan Interim Administration and provide first-exposure training to personnel of the relevant ministries (Ministries of Education, Higher Education and Information and Culture). The team, led by Dr. Seddiq Weera from McMaster University included Professor Lodin from RACA, Professor Fareewar from the Afghan University and Mr. Dalili from SDF. Meetings included those with Dr. Maliha Zolfeqar, Deputy Minister Higher Education, Dr. Zabihullah Asmati, Deputy Minister of Education, Abdul Hamid Mobarez, Deputy Minister Information and Culture and Mr. Thomas Ruttig, a key UN advisor to the Grand Assembly (Loya Jirga) process. All three ministries expressed interest in further discussions about ways to incorporate peace education into their curricula and media programs. Mr. Ruttig has asked Dr. Weera to consider providing similar training to the monitors as well as the participants of the historic Loya Jirga of June 2002. Mr. Ruttig will inform Dr. Weera about the final decision on this.

Separate meetings were also held with the Afghan University in Peshawar (Peshawar, Pakistan), Chancellor and faculty of Nangarhar University (Jalalabad, Afghanistan) and the Ministry of Public Health (Kabul, Afghanistan) and concrete follow-up actions were decided upon.

May 17- June 05, 2002: Training the trainers and partnership with the Government

Other Peace Links