LocationsThe Role of Education in Building Peace
Calligraffiti by «Ashekman»
Akram Chehayeb
Minister of Education and Higher Education
Peacebuilding, and the dissemination of values of tolerance and the principles of justice and equality between individuals and the various components of society are not merely a lofty goal, but an arduous process that requires the establishment of a way of life based on respect for human rights, freedoms and dignity, and setting them as the goal that is safe from unlawful practices.
Peacebuilding is a national human responsibility, a goal that must always be pursued and established in a world that has suffered and continues to suffer the scourge of war making and destruction, and the dissemination of a culture of hatred, discrimination and exclusion.
Education plays a central role in peacebuilding, and in ending war, chaos and violence. It also has a central role in fostering a culture of resolving differences humanely and peacefully. This requires modern approaches to teaching the challenges of achieving peace, developing nonviolent skills and promoting peaceful attitudes.
Because wars are born in the human mind, the role of education in peacebuilding and laying a solid foundation for it are not limited to school and university, but are a joint effort to be undertaken by parents, educators and teachers. Hence the importance of education on peace, which plays a key role in changing the mentality and working to control the psychological factors that lead to violence, to dispel prejudices, activate dialogue, promote mutual respect and the building of bridges across differences.
Within this framework, the contribution of education to building the desired peace should be through the development of modern educational curricula that are capable through school and university education of contributing to laying the foundation for the following concepts:
- Promoting the concept of a culture of peace and non-violence at the social level through various ways and means.
- Disseminating the concepts of tolerance and focusing on the principles of civil peace and peace in general on the grounds that diversity and plurality in all their forms are a source of wealth for human life.
- Focusing on establishing a culture of respect for human rights and freedoms guaranteed by all divine laws, international instruments and national laws in all circumstances.
- The importance of equality between all and non-discrimination for any reason between men and women, or between individuals of different affiliations.
- Consolidating the principles of democracy and the values of the peaceful transition of power, and moving away from prejudiced rhetoric and any racist behaviors and practices.
The achievement of the above requires a genuine partnership between the official and social actors to move forward toward a promising humanitarian horizon, one in which education plays an active role in establishing the culture of acceptance of diversity and in resolving differences—that will always be there—through dialogue and all human methods that ensure respect for the right of difference and regulates it within the framework that preserves civil peace, and peace more broadly, in a stable and sustainable manner.
