INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY

An International Conference
November 19-23, 2006
Antalya, Turkey

Prof. Gavriel Saloman and Prof. Mohammed Dajani
Conference Co-Chairmen

“Peace and democracy education is a participatory holistic process that includes teaching for and about democracy and human rights, nonviolence, social and economic justice, gender equality, environmental sustainability, disarmament, traditional peace practices, international law, and human security” Hague Appeal for Peace

About the Conference

IPCRI will be convening an International Conference on “Education for Peace and Democracy”. The Conference will bring together peace and democracy educators, curricula writers, encounter facilitators, peace studies practitioners, conflict resolution practitioners, human rights educators, mediators, and activists from academia, research sector, governmental and community organizations and others from Israel, Palestine and beyond, with a special emphasis on other crisis regions.

The conference will be a tremendous opportunity for dialogue, debate and visioning with collaboration and cooperation between the body of theory and practice. The conference will be meeting grounds for dialogue and mutual learning from the field of peace and democracy education from the viewpoint of academia and from the field of practioners. The conference will raise critical issues and acquire new insights into the profound peace and democracy education developments in Israel, Palestine and around the world. Furthermore, the Conference will provide an excellent opportunity to build connections across multi-disciplinary sectors.

Peace and Democracy Education is now the subject of UN policy, research and training by UNESCO, the Council of Europe and ministries of education, various universities throughout the world and a worldwide trans-nationally conceived and conducted NGO Global Campaign for Peace and Democracy Education.

The Philosophy of peace and democracy education seeks to prepare students for active and responsible citizenship in the process of addressing their lives and the conflict situation in which they live. It is based on an inquiry into principles of non-violence, human rights, social, economic, political and ecological justice, etc. that inform peace education and asserts the need for an intentional interrelationship between pedagogy and content.

Peace and Democracy Education emphasize the integral relationship between pedagogy and content that is essential to its transformative nature. Drawing from the rich field of peace studies, Peace and Democracy Education goes beyond learning about peace and democracy to teaching for a culture of peace based on principles of human rights, non-violent resolution of conflicts and citizen participation. Peace and democracy education openly acknowledges its purpose as education to facilitate the achievement of peace and a related set of social values, largely through learning to recognize, confront and practice alternatives to multiple forms of violence.

Main Themes for the Conference

* Moving from a Culture of hate to a culture of peace
* Resources for peace educators
* Peace education curricula - research and development
* Coping with existing curricula in Israel and Palestine
* Does Peace and Democracy Education really work – a review of research and evaluations
* Using media in peace and democracy education
* Using the arts in peace and democracy education
* Virtual Peace education - using the internet in peace and democracy education
* Peace and democracy education in the informal educational arena – youth centers, youth movements, clubs, etc.
* Institutionalizing peace and democracy education – confronting the formal education systems
* Civic education, democracy education, building open and pluralistic societies

The Conference Format

The conference will be organized by:

* Plenary sessions for the keynote and main panel discussions.
* Workshops and parallel sessions – small discussion groups, presentations, and demonstrations
* Poster sessions
* Evening films and peace culture activities

Co-Chairman Prof. Mohammed Dajani Letter

This conference on Peace Education comes at an opportune time to our region in the aftermath of the Lebanon War, the on-going violence in Gaza and the West Bank, and the war in Iraq. It comes as a drop of fresh water in a hot desert bringing together prominent scholars and educationalists from various countries in the field of peace education.

Peace education is most vital for confidence and trust building and for creating a culture of peace which in my view ought to precede and accompany any comprehensive peace negotiations and that would play a vital role in promoting reconciliation in the post conflict times.. Peace education is defined as the teaching of positive values, tolerant attitudes, coexistence behavior, a way of life that rejects violence and imparts to others the skills of dialogue, conflict management, and negotiations to resolve conflict as a daily behavior and mode of thinking. It is aspired that peace education would help us achieve a culture of peace within our societies that may enable the people of the region to coexist harmoniously.

Co-Chairman Prof. Gavriel Saloman Letter

In a world of conflict, can we entertain the luxury of not engaging in Peace Education? What then is Peace Education? How can it become effective in the face of ongoing conflict? What can Israelis and Palestinians learn from other regions of conflict? What can these regions learn from the experience of Peace Education in Israel/Palestine?

This conference brings together knowledge and vision, experience and research, to examine the nature of PE and its effects, the lessons it teaches us and the questions it raises.