Special Operation

Peacebuilding is an indispensable need and approach to build a prosperous and progressive
society. It supports communities to refrain from violence and extremism, if instilled
appropriately. To initiate the process of Peacebuilding we need help of social institutions
around us and nothing is better to start but from home and schools. Thus, given the importance
of schools in this process, role of teachers becomes very pivotal to achieve the ultimate goal of
Peacebuilding by integrating peace education in their regular curriculum.
Process:
As elucidated above that the role of teachers in Peacebuilding is very crucial. The very reason
for this statement is that teachers have direct and influential contact with the young kids of our
society. Primary School Teachers deal with the students in their early stage when their
personalities, perceptions and approaches are shaped. In this connection, an interactive and
dialogue-based session was arranged. 41 Local Primary School Teachers were introduced to the
fundamental concepts of Peace, Peacebuilding, Conflicts, Violence and Extremism. In addition,
they were also introduced to the basic strategies related to peace and countering violent
extremism. During the session, all the teachers were asked thought-provoking questions and
were encouraged to brainstorm on their positive role in peacebuilding. In the last, some of the
key skills, methods and content derived from the research articles were shared with them as
tangible factors to directly improve their performance in the area of peacebuilding as a teacher.
Conclusion/Impact:
As a whole, session proved to be very prolific. Almost 90% of the teachers participated in the
discussion related to their roles in peacebuilding in their schools and in their respective
communities. Many of them encouraged that it was a new concept for them and sessions like
this should be held more often. In addition, it was also established through this session that it is
also an ethical responsibility of a teacher to impart and integrate peace education in the regular
curriculum.