September 8, 2019---The State of Manipur, like many other conflict and violent stricken places around the World, is engulfed in a vicious cycle of civil unrest, fear and hostility leading to frequent curfews, closure of schools and public services. The emotional and psychological effects of this situation, especially among the youth will require a systemic overhaul – beginning with education. 

It is therefore, important to teach non-violence and kindness in youth and adolescents formative years if we aspire for a peaceful future. Education must strive to co-curate classrooms and school environments that are inclusive and free from all forms of discrimination. This includes ensuring that all pedagogies, language, content and mediums of delivery are attuned towards the objective of building peaceful prosocial behaviour among young learners - not ‘Othering’ them towards bullying and other violent behaviors.

Permeating all this is the indisputable role of the teachers. How can teachers spearhead the co-curation of inclusive classrooms that build peaceful prosocial behaviours? 
To this end, a workshop on building inclusive and peaceful classrooms will be conducted by two youth leaders Anokhi Parikh and Gauri Bhure who are trained experts on UNESCO MGIEP’s #YouthWagingPeace methodologies, & social and emotional learning competencies. The workshop scheduled from 9-10 September intends to equip 20 local Manipur teachers representing different schools with the tools to explore creation of safe spaces for children to have intentional dialogues, and curate their pedagogical delivery to bring forth pro-social behavior.
 

Are you using #YouthWagingPeace guides to wage peace in your community? Tell us about it. 
Find more resources HERE. 

Kuany – s.kuany@unesco.org 
Mr. Vijay Raghavan – v.raghavan@unesco.org