Peace education

About peace education

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child promises education for 'the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples'. Quakers are working to make that right a reality.

Peace education works at different levels:

• helping children and young people discover the wonder and beauty within themselves, nurturing inner peace.
• developing the values and skills needed to respond to conflict creatively, encouraging interpersonal peace.
• encouraging children to examine the root causes of violence and war and build peace in the wider world.

Quakers working in their Meeting can also contact our colleagues in the Children and Young People's team.

Resources

The Peace Education team and our partners produce a range materials for use in schools and beyond. They can help pupils tackle matters of conscience in the classroom such as armed drones and nonviolence.

Find downloadable free resources.

Order print materials from the Quaker Centre Bookshop.

Check us out on TES Resources

Current projects

INSPIRE Peace in 2018

INSPIRE about young peacemakers taking action 100 years after the end of World War I. That war cost 18 million lives, but the guns didn't fall silent on Armistice Day 1918. INSPIRE challenges young people to ask, what would it really mean to say 'Never again' in 2018.

Remembrance for Peace activities are being held across the UK both to remember those lost in war and to inspire action for peace.

INSPIRE is engaging hundreds of thousands of young people through the collaboration between Quakers in Britain, Corrymeela, Coventry Cathedral, Oasis Trust, Wales for Peace and many others.

To learn more about the project, go to www.oasisinspire.org and follow @Oasis_INSPIRE on twitter

Challenging militarisation in education

Militarisation makes society more ready for war. Quakers in Britain continue to be alarmed at government promotion of the armed forces in the classroom and young people's lives. This 'unseen march' needs to be questioned.

Watch the feature length documentary, War School: the battle for Britain's Children

Watch our short film The Unseen March.

Read our blog: Challenging armed forces visits to schools.

Training for peace

Quakers have been at the forefront of developing peace education in Britain, but there are still many schools and young people who do not benefit from this kind of learning.

Through training and support we are working to build Quakers' skills and confidence to be trainers and advocates of peace education. In particular we are arranging Train the Trainer support for Quakers to train peer mediators. We also work with educators more widely to highlight best practice in peace education. Contact Ellis Brooks ellisb@quaker.org.uk to get involved.

Join the peace education mailing list

Quakers interested and engaged in peace education may join our peace education cluster for updates, sharing projects and ideas that can be used with children and young people. The peace education cluster is part of the Quaker Life Network which brings together Friends with common interests. You can subscribe to the peace education cluster here (offsite link).

Peace education partners

Excellent peace education is delivered by a range of organisations around Britain. Quakers seek to support and promote this by working in partnership with them.

The Peace Education Network (offsite link) is a UK network that brings together people and organisations committed to education for peace.

Peer Mediation is conflict resolution for young people by young people. The Peer Mediation Network (offsite link) brings together conflict resolution practitioners and educators committed to promoting peer mediation in schools and the wider community.

The Peaceful Schools Movement is committed to developing more peaceful schools. Peaceful School Awards recognise the success of schools around England which have taken strides in different aspects of peace education. Visit the Peaceful Schools website (offsite link).