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Description
The Peacebuilding School addresses the lack of systematic support and monitoring of students'' progress in social knowledge and crucial skills and the lack of systematic in-service teacher education in non-violent conflict transformation during their studies where they are expected to protect students’ rights, prevent violence and create an atmosphere conducive to learning and teaching.
The project is developing a methodology and structures to support the school as a community that promotes the social inclusion of young people on the basis of peacekeeping, a culture of non-violence, solidarity and cooperation. Peace education in the educational context connects civic education with attitudes, values and skills and provides a common framework for development of sustainable peace.
Target groups: schools (18 members of the Peacebuilding School Forum), CSOs (3-4), local authorities (3) and 20-30 interested schools, including 2 attended by minority groups and Roma students (3), and the Ministry of Education and Culture. About 60-100 teachers and 50-60 students are expected to be involved (3 Roma).
The key activities are:
• strengthening the capacity of schools and CSOs for partnerships and for the involvement of interested schools in the work of the Peacebuilding School Forum,
• active advocacy of the concept of a peace school in local communities,
• Advocating the concept of a peace school and introducing adequate vocational education in non-violent conflict transformation for teachers before the Ministry of Culture and Education and political decision-makers in the Republic of Croatia.
Expected results are:
• Strengthened capacity of schools to promote peacekeeping/peacebuilding
• Strengthened administrative and program capacities of the Forum
• Agreed Advocacy Strategy of the Forum.
Local partners are facilitating of communication with Roma community, provide training in mediation and non-violence and facilitate partnership with additional schools.
Summary of project results
The Peaceful School Forum (Forum MŠ) is an informal initiative that emerged from a group of laureates and nominated schools for the Peaceful School Award, which is awarded by the Center for Peace-Osijek. It was founded in 2017.
The Forum MŠ connects schools (students, teachers, parents), other educational institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on peacebuilding and peace education, local/regional authorities that promote a culture of peace, and experts in the field of peacemaking. Its primary objectives are:
- To enhance and develop their own peacebuilding potential.
- To promote and advocate for the development of a culture of peacemaking through education and collaboration.
The Forum MŠ is composed of 18 schools from various parts of Croatia (representing 11 counties) and 7 NGOs.
The key challenge faced by the Peaceful School Forum (Forum MŠ) is the lack of capacity to meet the expressed interest of its member schools in peace education for their students and teachers, as well as the need to build upon the achievements made through past efforts. With this project, the goal is to contribute to strengthening the capacity of Forum MŠ in several areas:
Partnerships on Projects: Enhancing the ability to establish partnerships on various projects. This could involve collaboration with other organizations, institutions, or initiatives to further the goals of peace education and peacemaking in schools.
Involvement of Interested Schools: Expanding the active involvement of interested schools within Forum MŠ. This might include increasing the number of participating schools, particularly those with students from minority backgrounds, including the Roma community.
Advocacy: Empowering Forum MŠ to engage in more active advocacy efforts. This could involve advocating for the concept of peaceful schools within local communities, in front of the Ministry of Culture and Education, and with policymakers in Croatia and the European Union.
By addressing these challenges and strengthening its capacity in these areas, Forum MŠ aims to have a more significant impact on promoting peace education and fostering a culture of peacemaking within schools and communities.
1.1. Awarding of the Peaceful School Award 2021 We planned to obtain 8-10 nominations for the Peaceful School Award through a public competition, which we successfully achieved (9 nominations). Additionally, we received updates for 10 nominations proposed in the previous two years.
1.2. Educational Study Visit "Peace is in Our Hands" was conducted in 2 blocks, each lasting 3 and 2 days. All planned program elements were successfully implemented, including study visits to Osijek, Vukovar, Dalj, and Zlatna Greda, the establishment of a group for interactive learning and collaboration, basic training on "Conflict as an Opportunity," including peer mediation, connecting two awarded schools from different parts of Croatia, and the breakdown of prejudices and stereotypes regarding the Roma minority. As planned, this activity involved 4 schools, with 24 students and 10 teachers participating.
2.1. Professional Workshop "Conflict as an Opportunity" - Three planned online professional workshops were conducted ("Conflict as an Opportunity I and II" and "Power and Authority in the School Environment"). The "Conflict as an Opportunity" program, based on the European curriculum for nonviolent conflict transformation for teachers, was promoted as a professional workshop organized by the Agency for Education (AZOO), and participants received certification for professional development. A total of 226 teachers/specialists from 134 educational institutions participated in the "Conflict as an Opportunity" and "Power and Authority in the School Environment" workshops. Teachers in their evaluations mentioned that both topics are inadequately addressed in teacher education and professional development, but they consider them important for violence prevention and creating a classroom/school environment conducive to teaching.
2.3. Preparation of the Annual Assembly of the Informal Initiative Peaceful School Forum A satisfactory number of participants, 80% of the members of the Peaceful School Forum (FMŠ), took part in the online process. This included 19 individuals from 12 schools and 3 NGOs. 11 of them were coordinators appointed to existing working groups formed at the 2019 assembly.
2.4. Basic Education and Advocacy Strategy Development - The development of the advocacy strategy was conducted in a two-day online participatory process with educational components. Thirteen individuals from 7 schools and 3 NGOs participated.
Activities has reached more users than planned (planned for 228 individuals, but covered 400, planned for 50 schools but included 134). Here are the following results:
All primary and secondary schools (approximately 1324), local government administrative departments (200), around 400 NGOs, and the general public received information about the Peaceful School Award 2021 and the concept of a peaceful school, as originally planned.
We received new nominations for 9 schools (planned for 8-10), and there were updates for another 10 schools transferred from the previous two years. The geographical representation was diverse as expected, with participation from 10 counties and the city of Zagreb.
The Peaceful School Award ceremony took place at the Cultural Center in Osijek and was attended by 60 guests from all over Croatia, the region, and internationally, including representatives from both awarded schools. The laureates were greeted by dignitaries, including the deputy mayor of the City of Osijek, the deputy county prefect of Osijek-Baranja County, the deputy ombudsman, and ambassadors from the Kingdom of Norway, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Ambassador for the European Union''s Climate Pact. The live broadcast of the event reached 6.8K viewers, received 268 clicks, 145 engagements, and 19 shares. Media coverage exceeded expectations, with 54 reports, including coverage on the tv and radio.
We successfully completed the planned 6-day educational and study visit in two blocks. A total of 34 individuals participated, including 24 students and 10 teachers (more than the planned 20 + 6).
The Agency for Education accepted the online seminars "Conflict as an Opportunity I and II" and "Power and Authority in the School Environment" as professional development events, organized in cooperation with the Peaceful School Forum. There was significant interest, with 226 teachers/specialists from a total of 134 educational institutions participating.
We conducted workshops on Sustainable Development and My Community for 4 high schools and 1 primary school, involving a total of 61 students and 9 teachers.
We carried out a participatory process in preparation for the Peaceful School Forum''s assembly and developed a high-quality advocacy strategy proposal for the Forum.