Erasmus+ project aims strengthen peace and democracy by building up conflict resolution training for adults
We want to live in peace; and yet we cannot do everything ourselves in order to ensure peace and security. Still, everyone can do their own small part by learning to resolve conflicts in their own sphere of life. This, however, requires knowledge and listening skills, mindful communication and confronting one’s own feelings and assumptions, as well as the ability to detect social structures and operating models that cause or maintain conflicts. These are all skills that can be practiced and maintained at all age levels.
In this project, we explore the challenges of training adults in conflict resolution skills. We research and exchange experiences on effective training methods in different EU countries. Our aim in the project is to develop an EU-wide training model and courses.
Greater knowledge of conflict resolution methods is vital for European societies if they want to strengthen democracy and prevent various conflicts from turning violent, and to defuse conflicts that have already become violent.
What do we want to change?
We want adults to have the knowledge and skills to use peaceful conflict resolution methods. While children are taught skills to resolve social situations, adults are responsible for conflicts and need more robust tools to resolve them.
Our project is based on the assumption that many people currently living in Europe who are affected by conflicts are not aware of conflict resolution methods or do not know how to use them. These include mediation, reconciliation, dialogue and many other methods.
Why is this important?
The inability of Europeans to resolve conflicts creates room for societal development that undermines the environment, human rights and democracy. In order to halt this trend, we must learn to resolve conflicts more effectively.
Conflicts include, for example, wars and armed conflicts in the vicinity of the European Union, disputes over who should pay for slowing down climate change and compensating for the damage it causes, or the inability of different states to resolve political differences together. As conflicts are prolonged, there is an increased risk of them spreading, becoming part of the social and economic structures of societies and eventually becoming violent. Conflicts also spill across borders through peoples’ actions and social media.
What is our goal?
To respond to an increasing need for adult educators to have the required capacity and competences to train adults in maintaining peace.
With this short-term project, our aim is to create a solid basis for a more long-term project, so that we can maximise the impact of our activities, as well as create a larger consortium to develop peace training and conflict resolution on a European level.
How are we going to make a difference?
First, we need the organisations themselves to be better and more efficient in contributing to change. The project aims to increase the capacity of the organisations involved and the competences of their personnel in determining and answering war and crisis affected peoples’ need to build peace. We investigate how our own organisations and other organisations are prepared to train adults in conflict resolution skills: what kind of competences we have, what kind of competences are needed and how they could be developed. We will also explore what adult educators understand by peace, peace education and conflict resolution methods. Similarly, we will find out what kind of skills those involved in conflicts already possess and would like to develop.
After that, we will organise an online webinar to exchange experiences and learn together. Finally, we will assemble a consortium that will seek long-term funding to start a new training programme.
Project information
Project: SPEC – Strengthening peace education for preventing conflicts
Time: 1.9.2024 – 30.4.2025
Funding: 30.000 €. Erasmus+ Small-scale partnerships in adult education (KA210-ADU)
Coordinator: Peace Ambassador Academy (Committee of the 100 in Finland)
Partners: Työväen Akatemia and Fundacja Wspierania Dialogu “Rozmawiajmy”.
Funded by the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) can be held responsible for the content of this publication. More information about the Erasmus+ programme: www.oph.fi/erasmusplus.
