Two Peace Education Workshops
Hosted by
1) August 7-11 at Scottish Church College, Kolkata, and
2) August 14-18 at Madras Christian College, Chennai.
Sponsored by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (The United Board)
In partnership with
Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute, Philippines and
Mennonite Central Committee, Kolkata
Call for Application
Rationale:
The United Board’s mission is to develop the whole person – intellectually, spiritually, and ethically. To realize this mission, the United Board supports peace education projects that help students understand the issues at the root of conflicts in their respective communities in the contemporary world.
Peace education in India has gained attention only in the last few years. In India, peace education lacks a coherent curriculum and is, at best, taken up piecemeal in a few departments. Emphasis has been placed on the strategic, political, and military dimensions with little attention to inter-group, interpersonal, and international political dynamics. Considering the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and India as the birthplace of Buddhism and Jainism, the history of partition, refugee problems, and communal riots, one would like to think peace education must have flourished in India. Nevertheless, although Gandhi’s life and thought have influenced people far and near, only particular aspects of Gandhian thought have been championed. Very little attention was given to its implications and connection to global problems. Research on peace and conflict resolution is another area where progress is meager in India. There is a grave need for continuous training, especially for developing curricula and pedagogies for peace education in higher education.
To meet the need for peace education and respond to India’s unique challenges, the United board believes in scaling the impact of its previous training programs with the training of the trainers’ approach. To this end, the United Board envisions these week-long intensive workshops will equip our Indian faculty members with the necessary skills to introduce peace education in their respective institutions confidently. The United Board has partnered with the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI), Philippines, and Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC), Kolkata, India, to develop two faculty training workshops in peace education for colleges and universities in India.
Each workshop will be an entirely in-person residential program for five days. The same workshop will be conducted in two different places. For the North, North East, West, and East Indian participants, the workshop will take place from August 7th to 11th at Scottish Church College, Kolkata. For participants from South India, the workshop will be conducted from August 14th to 18th at Madras Christian College, Chennai. The learning outcomes of the workshop will include
➢ To better appreciate the assumptions and theories on how peace education contributes to change.
➢ To understand key frameworks and approaches to peacebuilding and peace education.
➢ To develop objectives, activities, and assessments associated with an effective peace education course, workshop, and/or curriculum relevant to the context of the participants.
➢ To familiarize the faculty with experiential pedagogies involving critical thinking and reflective teaching methods.
➢ To identify opportunities for research on issues of peace education.
➢ To integrate peace education with the institutions’ mission for whole-person education.
Expected participants:
Participants from institutions in India that have already introduced peace education or planning to implement peace education shortly are encouraged to apply. The United Board will meet the training fee, accommodation, and food for the participants during the workshop period. We encourage the institutions of the participants to meet their travel expenses. A maximum of 30 participants will be selected for each workshop. An institution may nominate more than one representative; however, the United Board reserves the right to choose the participants based on gender and institutional representation and balance. Selected candidates will be asked to upload an endorsement letter from the heads of their institutions.
Application:
The online application is open now. Click here for the application. The deadline is the 30th of May, 2023 (Tuesday). The selection result will be announced in June/July 2023.
For any inquiries, don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Pray Eucha, Program Associate, at peucha@unitedboard.org.
Website: https://unitedboard.org/