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Emotional Intelligence and Social Change: A Conflict skills and Peacemaking Activity

Designed by Haley Nelson

Background Information/Content

Social-emotional intelligence is central to group dynamics and conflict. Yet, the exploration of emotional intelligence has historically been neglected in conflict resolution and peacebuilding conversations. The absence of emotional intelligence in conflicts can hinder the ability of group members to navigate conflict, empathize with others, and manage relationships (Schwarz, 2002). When emotional intelligence is considered at the educational, community, or organizational level, group members can learn to harness emotion as a community and relationship-building tool. 

This activity explores emotional intelligence in the context of peace education. This resource draws inspiration from psychology surrounding basic emotions, emotional wheels, and the origin of emotion, as well as conflict resolution and peacebuilding research on emotions and conflict. This activity will support groups in building emotional intelligence on the individual and social levels. This activity is best suited for groups with a common goal, such as classrooms, community organizations, and the workplace. 

Context

This activity is best suited for high school students, college-age students, and adults. The formality of this activity can be adapted to various education settings but is neutral in its current form. The activity consists of two phases and will take approximately 30 minutes per phase. The length of this activity may vary based on the depth of conversation and volume of participation.

The recommended group size for this activity is 4-10 people. Increased group size will increase duration, allowing for productive discussion among group members. This activity would be best supported by materials such as sticky notes, note cards, and a whiteboard. However, this exercise can be completed via discussion if these resources are unavailable.  

Implementation

Phase 1: (30-45 minutes)

  • Introduction (2-3 minutes):
    • Check-in on how everyone feels and provide context for the activity. The purpose of this introduction is to reveal that the activity will encourage participants to explore and feel daily emotions and tensions. The facilitator should consider establishing a controlled environment where participants can explore emotions safely. An introductory example is below:
      • “We are going to discuss emotional intelligence today. We will create a respective space where real emotions will be felt. We will go through a simulation designed to stimulate emotions in scenarios we feel and experience in our daily lives. If you feel the need to leave the space and take a moment for yourself at any time, please do so.”
    • Describe the importance of emotional intelligence when managing conflict.
  • Description of the simulation (2-3 minutes):
    • Provide a scenario, context, and discussion topic for the audience to navigate. For example, a dinner party discussing travel destinations will generate conversation and allow participants a neutral space to explore group dynamics.Assign behavioral traits to participants randomly: Each participant will be assigned a behavioral trait designed to generate tension, such as disruptive talking, withdrawn behavior, and overconfidence.
      • Remind the audience of the difference between behavior and emotions, acknowledging that the two might contrast during the activity.
    • Open conversation for any questions before beginning.
  • Simulation (5-10 minutes)
    • During the simulation, the participants will navigate conversation based on the context and behavioral traits provided. The group may find conversation challenging to navigate. The goal of the activity is to stimulate emotions based on the role assigned, the conversations at hand, or the simulation process itself.
  • Reflection: (5 minutes)
    • Take a moment to check in with participants. Ask the audience to write down the emotions 1. They experienced during the role play, and 2. Behaviors that might indicate others’ emotions during the role play.
    • After listing these observations on a notecard or sticky note, ask participants to hold on to their observations for later conversation (allowing for further engagement).
  • Individual level emotional intelligence? (10 minutes)
    • Define emotional intelligence and explore this definition with the group. This is an excellent opportunity to explore the meaning behind emotional intelligence and clarify any questions regarding emotional intelligence with the group.
    • After defining emotional intelligence, ask group members to share the emotions they experienced during the activity with the group. Ask the participants to refrain from group observations until later.
      • Explore the dynamic of emotions as they arise:
        • Did members experience multiple emotions? Were those emotions in harmony with one another? Did emotions contrast with each other?
  • Clarifying emotions (5-10 minutes):
    • Explore the six types of basic emotions with the group: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise. Then, explore emotions surrounding each category and how they can be clarified. For example: if a group member said they felt anxious during the activity, that emotion is rooted in fear. If a group member said they felt confused during the activity, that emotion is rooted in surprise. Provide examples for the group, then encourage them to clarify their shared emotions.
    • Many people, especially adults, will provide cognitive responses instead of emotions when asked how they feel. When asked what emotions they experienced during the activity, a cognitive response might sound like, “conversations about travel destinations made me want to explore the world more.” Encourage using the emotional wheel to assist participants in shifting from cognitive responses to emotional responses. Ask the participant which emotion is closest to their shared responses and explore the differences between emotion and cognition.

Phase 2: (20-30 minutes)

  • Social-emotional intelligence (5-10 minutes)
    • Ask the participants to return to their group observational notes from the simulation. Consider what cues clued participants in on how others might have been feeling.Provide an example of clarifying social emotions for the group:
      • “I noticed that you were quiet after being interrupted. Did you feel sad after that interaction?” Remind the group to use core emotion vocabulary (i.e., happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise). 
      Allow group members to share their observations. 
    • Open a conversation to ask how accurate their observations were.
      • Why were my observations accurate/inaccurate? How can I better observe the emotions in groups moving forward? 
  • Further discussion: (15-20 minutes)
    • Allow the group to discuss their experience with the activity in depth. Some guiding questions might include the following:
      • How aware were you in the moment of your emotions? Others? 
      • Did you feel that other people’s emotions influenced yours? How? 
      • What were your reactions to emotions in the space? How/did you respond?
      • How might you manage your reactions to emotions in the future?
      • How difficult was it to clarify your emotions? 

Ways to further curate this resource:

  • Pedagogies that may strengthen this resource involve increased participant freedom and involvement. The facilitator of this exercise might increase participant freedom by:
    • Encouraging group members to create their own activities to stimulate everyday emotions.
    • Allowing group members to redefine emotional intelligence for themselves based on shared interests.
    • Involving artistic approaches to exploring emotions such as paintings, photographs, and music. This might involve emotional responses to the creation of artwork or the observation of artwork.

Goal

This activity focuses on individual and social-emotional intelligence. As an introduction to emotional intelligence, this activity seeks to help group members identify their emotions and clarify the origin of their emotions. At the group level, this activity seeks to increase awareness of group dynamics through observations and clarification of emotion. This activity aims to foster empathy and connection within a group by discussing the relationship between individual and social emotions. 

After this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Understand the meaning and importance of emotional intelligence.
  • Clarify everyday emotions into the six core emotions.
  • Have increased awareness of the connection between individual and social emotions. 

Resources

Further reading on emotions and insight into social-emotional intelligence:

Cherry, K. (2022, December). The 6 types of basic emotions and their effect on human behavior. Verywell Mind. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-types-of-emotions-4163976 

The Junto Emotion Wheel. The Junto Institute. (2022). Retrieved 2022, from https://www.thejuntoinstitute.com/emotion-wheels/ 

Schwarz, R. (2002). Ch 12: Dealing With Emotions. In The skilled facilitator: A comprehensive resource for consultants, facilitators, managers, trainers, and coaches. essay, Jossey-Bass. 

An Art Activity for Reflection and Generalization of Learning

Designed by Yuriko Noda

This is an activity designed and can be utilized effectively at the end of a series of training, seminar, course, etc. that is conducted based on the principles of experiential learning which facilitates participants learning through their experiences.

Based on the experiential learning cycle adapted from Kolb (2015), it is argued that people can learn from experiences, but just experiencing something is not enough to actually learn from it. For the effective experiential learning, the process of “Reflection” and “Generalization” are important in order to be able to “Apply” the learning in the future. Therefore, this activity is designed to be helpful for participants to reflect and generalize their learning from their experiences.


Outline of the activity:

  • Overview: The participants take time to work on their own to reflect their series of experiences, make a short story about it, and put it into an art piece. After that, the participants present it to the group, and the facilitator lead a short discussion about each presentation with the group, as well as a short reflection about this entire activity.
  • Time: 45-60 minutes
  • Number of participants: Any number more than 3
  • Age group: Any age, depending on the expected depth of the reflections, generalizations, and discussions
  • Settings: In-person or online.
    • For in-person settings, a variety of materials need to be prepared.
    • For online settings, it’s helpful to notify the participants in advance so that they can bring their own materials ready.
  • Goals: By the end of this activity, the participants would be able to
    • Become more aware of their biggest learning from the series of experiences
    • Express and present their biggest learning from the series of experiences
    • Have ideas how to apply their biggest learning from the series of experiences in their future
    • Remember their biggest learning from the series of experiences even after the completion
  • Pre-Work:
    • This 45–60-minutes activity is designed to be conducted after each participant taking time to reflect their series of experiences. So it is recommended to either give them heads-up to reflect the experiences on their own or set time for reflection together before this activity.
    • If it’s conducted online, it is also helpful to tell the participants briefly what we are going to do, and ask them to bring materials they may want to use (paper, pens, musical instruments, etc.).
  • Flow and instructions:
    • Introduction (1 min): Why we are doing this activity (purpose).
      • Presenting the learning cycle of DO – REFLECT – GENERALIZE – APPLY from the experiential learning, explain that this activity will help their reflection and generalization process of their learning and their preparation for application. DO part should have been done during the series of experiences.
      • Motivate them to try to grab the most important learning and express it in the form of art.
    • Instructions (4 min):
      • You will have 10 minutes to work on your piece of art by yourself. You are going to think and express the followings in a form of art, and present with the group after that (how to present, time to present depends on the number of the participants).
      • You can use any form of art. It could be a little one-man sketch or skit, making a song, rewriting lyrics of a famous song, drawing a picture, drawing a poster, making a sculpture using what you have at hand, write a poem, etc. But please try to avoid long sentences or wordy explanations. Using hands like handwriting is encouraged rather than typing or drawing on computer. Be creative!
      • Contents of the art is like a story which should include ALL of the following:
        1. BEFORE: How were you before this experience
        2. DURING: What you have learned the most in this experience (it could be several but the biggest one should be highlighted)
        3. AFTER: How it changed you and how/who you are right now
        4. FUTURE: How you can imagine yourself in the future (specify when) based on this experience
      • Time to work by yourself is 10 minutes. Time for you to present is 2 minutes. The facilitator will give you reminders of time (5 minutes to go, 1 mininute to go).
      • Any questions?
    • Individual crafting time (10-15 min). Playing a nice music is a good option. Set a timer and facilitator will give reminders 5 minutes and 1 minute before the end.
    • Presentation and discussion (20 min):
      • We get together after the crafting time is over.
      • Some or all of the partiicpants present their art pieces.
      • After each person’s presentation, other participants are welcome to make short comments, if any.
      • Facilitator will also acknowledge and make a comment on the presentation.
    • Small reflection of this activity (5 min):
      • Open to the floor to share their reflections and learning (if any) of this activity.
    • Wrap up (5 min):
      • Show appreciation for their works and make a brief comment by the facilitator
      • Put up the learning cycle again to highlight that in the experiential learning, it starts with DO but through the process of REFLECT and GENERALIZE, the learners can bring their learning as transferable or applicable knowledge, skills or attitudes. That’s why we did this activity and hope it will be helpful for you to utilize or apply your learning (not only the biggest one but other small ones, too) in your life in the future in different contexts

Resource:
Kolb. (2015). Experiential learning : experience as the source of learning and development (Second edition.). Pearson Education Ltd.

*This activity was designed by Yuriko Noda, a PhD stuent at from Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Music and the Mobilization of Nonviolence: Conflict Skills/Peacemaking Facilitation Activity

Designed by Yong June Kim

Background/Contents

Art is a powerful medium to de-escalate the tension of conflict when it is utilized at an appropriate time. Especially, music could bring strong emotional connectivity among people worldwide; it has been constantly used as a simple but strong tool to overcome social oppression and to strengthen the voice of the public with a nonviolent approach. This activity, Music and the Mobilization of Nonviolence, aims to teach how music could greatly impact emotional connectivity and de-escalation of conflict and contribute to a significant nonviolent movement against conflicts we face in our society. The activity was fully conducted online; due to this condition, the online meeting software Zoom was the main tool to proceed with the activity. Since Zoom provided an interactive whiteboard and screen-sharing option which enable the participants to be simultaneously engaged throughout the activity, it was sufficient to facilitate the exchange of emotions and ideas that are stimulated from the session. The resources for this activity are gathered based on self-research; one song deeply connected to social conflicts is selected per genre: Blues, Gospel, Rock, Hip-hop, Classic, Grassroot music, etc.

This type of education could be effectively utilized in any group regardless of age or community level when it is conducted in an informal setting since it is based on experiential learning; however, it could be especially practical for students at the K-12 level. As music itself contains entertaining elements, it could help the students maintain their focus and be fully engaged by actively listening and watching music videos during the activity. The debriefing questions are also based on their emotions and feelings that are directly reflected by the musical contents; this simple discussion could make them feel comfortable and safe to learn the key points of this activity that music itself could connect people and contribute to peacebuilding processes in the long term perspective. Furthermore, they will have the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the backgrounds of musical genres and pieces that they are used to listen but are not actually aware of the hidden stories they embody.

Implementation

  • Activity Time Duration: 45-60 minutes, depending on the number of songs an educator would like to use.
    • 3 min: Brief introduction and learning objectives
    • 10 min: introduction of a particular genre (it would be helpful to go through research or ask for support from those who have musical expertise during the preparation.)
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #1
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #2
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #3
    • 10-15 min: Review of the activity, simple quiz activities about the music based on debriefing
  • Orientation of the Session: The educator may have multiple sessions, introducing one genre for each session. The first session, however, needs to introduce the overall learning point, which is the music’s impact on peacebuilding and the mobilization of the nonviolence movement in society. Guiding the main theme at the beginning session will help both educators and students to be consistent with understanding the music’s role in the strategic peacebuilding process while engaging in the activity throughout the sessions. For example, sessions could be categorized like the example below:
    • Session 1: Introduction_How Music Helps Strategic Peacebuilding?
    • Session 2: Understanding the Origin of Blues Through Learning the Black History
    • Session 3: Learning Gospel through Analyzing Amazing Grace
    • Session 4: How did Hip-hop Become a Powerful Medium for Raising Voices for Social Issues
    • Session 5: Rock for Peace
  • Each session will start by introducing two to three songs that are relevant to the genre. The educator may briefly introduce the background of the songs and share the lyrics with the participants to help them have a better understanding of the contexts. The facilitator could also have a simple quiz about the music so that the participants can guess the information about the music, providing much more interaction during the session.
  • After appreciating those musical pieces, the educator can move into a debriefing session. When it is conducted online, shared whiteboard and brainstorming programs  through Zoom or Mural could be utilized to have students engaged in the activity. When it is conducted in person, however, the educator may use a large size of paper so that the participants could simultaneously add their thoughts of impression and engaged emotions to the paper. The Questions after listening to the musical pieces could be like below:
    • Let’s share your thoughts; what was the most impressive part for you when thinking of peacebuilding, nonviolence, and conflict?
    • What were the implications of the lyrics, rhythms, melodies?
    • Are there any other elements that seem powerful for the nonviolent process? Why?
    • If you want to introduce other songs you particularly find relevant, please share and explain why it is connected to the topic.

Goal

The objective is to connect music with peacebuilding and the nonviolence movement by emphasizing its contribution to emotional connectivity between groups, individuals, and communities. Through such experiential learning processes utilizing basic senses that are based on auditory, visionary, and somatic senses, it aims to help students to maintain their interest in learning in non-academic approaches. Also, this activity could help the students have better accessibility to understanding past and current major conflicts that are occurring worldwide by appreciating the musical pieces that directly reflect them. By doing so, it could facilitate the process of conscientization (Freire, 1970), which enables the participants to understand the social issues that could be directly related to themselves in a critical manner. The contents illustrated below could be the main learning objectives:

Resources Used for the Activity

Musical pieces that are used for the activity could various depending on the educator’s preferences or participants’ suggestions through discussion at the beginning of the session:

  1. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Seabury Press.
  2. B.   Shank, M., & Schirch, L. (2008). Strategic Arts-Based Peacebuilding. Peace & Change, 33(2), 217–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0130.2008.00490.
  3. 12 years a slave – choir song – ”roll jordan roll” 2013
  4. President Obama Sings Amazing Grace (C-SPAN)
  5. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message (Official Video)
  6. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
  7. ‘Stop the war in Ukraine’: Orchestra plays national anthem in central Kyiv as Russians advance
  8. [경향신문]19차 촛불집회 광화문에 울려퍼진 ‘임을 위한 행진곡’

*This activity was designed by Yong June Kim, an undergraduate student at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based on Dr. Arthur Romano’s Graduate Course (CONF 695) “Peace and Conflict Resolution Pedagogy” in Fall 2022. 

Critical Pedagogy and Peace Education in Early Childhood

Although the incorporation of peace education and critical pedagogical approaches are visible in certain spheres of elementary and higher-level education, entertaining the possibilities of implementing these in early childhood education is commonly absent from ECE spaces. Research on the human brain indicates that it is during the first five to six years of life that the vast majority of active brain growth and development occurs, with neural pathways forming and the brain essentially wiring itself as to how to know, relate to, and be in this world (Gramling, 2015). Further, evidence that children are aware of differences and begin to develop biases and prejudice during these early years (Pelo, 2008), including an awareness of structures of social dominance by as early as ten months (Christakis, 2016), suggest that the inclusion of peace education and pedagogical practices that foster critical thinking and a sense of ethnorelativism present as valuable concepts to bring to early childhood education. Ann Pelo, educational consultant and author, emphasizes the importance of rethinking early childhood education through the use of reflective pedagogical practice and social justice and ecological teaching. She asks, “What kind of people do we want to be? What kind of a world do we want to live in?” (pg. 37, Pelo, A., & Carter, M., 2019) and seeks to answer these questions through examining and reframing the purpose of education. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples of how critical pedagogy and education for peace may be translated to early childhood (and the pedagogical inspiration for Pelo’s work) exists in the infant toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, out of which the now globalized Reggio Emilia Approach to education emerged.

“This was the community’s response to the danger of totalitarianism and tyranny: create a school for the youngest of children.”-Anne Pelo

Following the devastation of WWII, the citizens of Reggio Emilia (specifically feminists active in the Italian Resistance and belonging to the Italian Women’s Union) sought to establish a school that recognized the right of every child to high quality care and education that imbued a sense of participatory civic consciousness so as to prevent any resurgence of fascist reign, war, and genocide as a consequence of societal conflict. With the guidance of Loris Malaguzzi, an educational practitioner who was instrumental in consulting a global network of educational theorists, philosophers, and social psychologists, the Reggio Emilia philosophy was developed as a new and comprehensive approach to early childhood education that sought to teach a sense of moral citizenship to the youngest members of society (Timeline | Reggio Children, 2020). Unlike other ECE approaches and curriculums that can be certified and implemented as is, the Reggio Emilia philosophy rests on a set of core values/tenets that are intended to be translated to work within the specific context of any given communal educational space. These foundational values mirror many of the pillars of peace education while also aligning with conceptual elements of critical pedagogical practice, and thereby serve as an example of the application of peace education and critical pedagogy to early childhood.

 At the heart of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is what Malaguzzi coined “the Image of the Child,” the belief that each and every child represent a whole human and citizen, capable, competent, and deserving of inherent rights, freedoms, and responsibilities. (Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G., 2011). Understanding the Image of the Child requires one to acknowledge their personal subjectivity in how they have come to view children and others through their own life experiences and epistemological lens. It informs the daily practices and interactions of adults as they work collaboratively with the children and each other to create a learning environment that is relationship-based. The task of observing and honoring the essential worth and value in each and every child connects directly to many of the other foundational tenets of the approach. These include:

  • The establishment of democratic classrooms, whereby all stakeholder voices of the educational process (the children, families, educators, and greater community) are held as equally valued and heard.
  • The concept that children are active protagonists of their learning, which occurs largely through processes of negotiated learning and social constructivism.
  • A practice of teaching and learning that is founded on a Pedagogy of Listening, whereby the capacity for reciprocal listening and dialog enables meaning making processes that are collaborative, collective, and democratic.
  • The idea that children (and all people) learn and communicate through “One hundred languages” of expression and understanding, and that it is imperative to acknowledge and listen to these various forms and ways of “being” in the world.
  • Embracing an openness to difference, doubt, uncertainty, and diverse perspectives as a point of learning and recognition of the value in another’s point of view and interpretation.
  •  The environment’s role as the third teacher, supporting the development of curriculum that is contextual and emergent. (Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G., 2011)

The pedagogical approach, which is constructivist in nature, pivots the role of the teacher from all-knowing keeper of information to co-discoverer, co-researcher, and co-learner alongside the children. This framing of the meaning-making process and role of the educator embodies a rejection of what Freire termed the “Banking Method” of education (whereby teachers deposit knowledge into students who are viewed as empty vessels) and assumes student-teacher, teacher-student relations that reconstruct traditional hierarchal structures of the educational process (Freire, 2000). Dedicated and astute observations of the children’s engagements and interactions inform the creation of documentation and reflective processes through which educators facilitate further learning that is responsive, relational, and centered on the children’s theories, inquiries, and quest for knowledge.

“…a willingness to question all your own abilities, your knowledge, to become humble. Only then will you be able to listen to the child, to set off on a common search, to ‘educate each other together.'” -Loris Malaguzzi

While the Reggio Emilia philosophy embodies values that parallel many of the pillars of peace education (enabling multiple intelligences, community building, nurturing emotional intelligence, skill building, and serving as a nonviolent means of transformative societal change by fostering ethnorelativism and valuing difference and diverse perspectives), when translated to the context of the United States the approach may be coupled with an anti-bias curriculum to more explicitly address racial hierarchy, structural violence, and societal injustice, thereby providing a nonviolent means of actualizing a more equitable society based on the pursuit of positive peace.

“The relationship between peace and prejudice concerns the ability or inability to be good listeners. This is where education for peace begins.” –Carlina Rinaldi

Although this post barely scratches the surface of the Reggio Emilia approach and what peace pedagogy may look like as translated to early childhood education, stakeholders in the fields of both of early childhood education and that of peace building may find it useful to begin to examine the possibilities of reframing the purpose and potential of early childhood education towards transformative societal change. A more detailed lesson plan could be developed centering on any or all of the foundational tenants of the Reggio Emilia approach and how they correspond to peace education and the implementation of critical pedagogy in early childhood, to then be used as inspiration for teaching practices in any given early childhood education center.

References/ Resources:

Christakis, E. (2016). The Importance of Being Little. Van Haren Publishing.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (2011). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd Edition (3rd ed.). Praeger.

Freire, P., Ramos, M. B., & Macedo, D. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th Anniversary Edition (30th Anniversary ed.). Continuum.

Gramling, M., & Jones, E. (2015). The Great Disconnect in Early Childhood Education: What We Know vs. What We Do. Redleaf Press.

Pelo, A. (2008). Rethinking Early Childhood Education (First ed.). Rethinking Schools.

Pelo, A., & Carter, M. (2019). From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work. Exchange Press.

Timeline | Reggio Children. (2020). Reggio Emilia Approach. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/timeline-en/

Conflict System Mapping

Background: In researching for my conflict resolution skills session assignment, I stumbled across a book, Making Peace Last, that takes the concept of systems thinking – one I originally grappled with during my master’s program in city and regional planning – and meshes it with peacebuilding. In the book, author Robert Ricigliano explains the paradox of macro-micro conflict, which is best summed up in this quotation he highlights:

“All the good peace work being done should be adding up to more than it is. The potential of all these efforts is not being realized.” – Mary Anderson and Lara Olson

Continue reading →

Peace Education of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s message of peace, love, forgiveness, and nonviolence is being ignored in some people, although it is still in all over the world. Gandhi was untiring and indomitable beloved idol for isolated weak class of people in India.

As violation is from people’s avarice, teaching of Gandhi should be in the education philosophy. Gandhi wanted to colonized people to be free from colonialism. Gandhi wanted to Asia and Africa to be free from colonialism. Leaders in United States and South Africa and several countries was successfully adopted Gandhi’s nonviolent values, but not in Asia.

The ideas of religious of Gandhi could de-escalate the conflict between different religions. According to Gandhi, “a curriculum of religious instruction should include a study of the tenets of faiths other than one’s own. For this purpose, the students should be trained to cultivate the habit of understanding and appreciating the doctrines of various great religions of the world in a spirit of reverence and broad-minded tolerance. This, if properly done, would help to give them a spiritual assurance and a better appreciation of their own religion. This study of other religions besides one’s own will give one a grasp of the rock-bottom unity of all religions, and afford a glimpse also of that universal and absolute Truth which lies beyond the ‘dust of creeds and faiths.’”

There was war between India and Pakistan, Iran and Iraq war. These wars destroy livelihood and made casualties. ASEAN region was the region where is the most peaceful region, except for the Rohingya community in Myanmar. They failed to assimilate and accept Rohingya community people.

For this article, stakeholders can be any countries which still in conflict such as Myanmar. Myanmar has conflict with Rohingya community, they do not consider Rohingya community people with Myanmar nationalities. I think the Myanmar government should embrace Rohingya community as a minority. People who are interested in peace education could get benefit from this article. This resource is well suited for all age of people and both gender who is interested in peace, and some countries which is still in conflict. Gandhi is a symbol of peace in the whole world, and his teaching of non-violence and peace is the best sources.

References

Contributor. “Mahatma Gandhi’s Message on Peace, Nonviolence, Inclusion of Minorities Is Pertinent.” The Independent News, 27 Oct. 2019, http://theindependent.sg/mahatma-gandhis-message-on-peace-nonviolence-inclusion-of-minorities-is-pertinent/.

Locating Education for Peace in Gandhian Thought – Articles : On and By Gandhi, https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/peace_education.htm.

Gandhi’s photo from http://theindependent.sg/mahatma-gandhis-message-on-peace-nonviolence-inclusion-of-minorities-is-pertinent/

Video art and peacebuilding.

“A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth a million.”

In the realm of visual art, medium of photography has given an immense impact contributing in peace building throughout the history due to its unique traits of grabbing, maintaining, and retaining viewer’s attention. A new medium of Video has emerged that exceeds far beyond the limited capacity of photography. Video with its distinct feature that allows audience to “experience” the depicted stories which creates a subconscious space to delve into the core morals and messages of the content. Such transcended contemplation and emotional shifts may bring opportunities to alter traditional ideas, rules, patterns, and relationships.

Video in the form of art has not only the ability to deliver often isolated stories from the marginalized part of world but also used as a tool to emotionally connect with the audience with visual aesthetic, sound design, and convincing acting. Emotional connections are crucial that allows drastic, often radical, conversion in human cognitions and behaviors. Peace building, which harshly requires creativity and transcendence, needs such conversion to bring about possible solutions. Emotional connection can bridge as an opportunity for therapeutic strategies for traumatized groups and individuals. It can also be used for an attempts of convincing pursuing a space for reconciliation or resilience depending on the situation of the conflicts. Video art can come in many shapes each with different trajectories. These are few of the examples:

Non-Fictional Documentary

Non-Fictional Documentary videos can create strong narratives about causes and dynamics of conflicts. In real documentaries live actions and narrations are recorded that excludes the acting part of the filming. Keeping the fact is the most essential part of this form of video.

Recreated Documentary

Real person recreating the story.

Short Film

Professional actors re-creating the historical characters and events.

Therapeutic Video

Very subjective part of video art due to different perceptive points of healing of every individual. However, majority of people share universal axioms from the tiniest form. Possibly film, music videos, and any kind of serene or sensitive videos are therapeutic.

Visual Poetry

Extremely artistic approach that brings about human emotion which also covertly underlies creator’s desired messages.

Reference

_https://vimeo.com/375281295

_https://vimeo.com/255678695

_https://vimeo.com/234498586

_https://vimeo.com/269595877

_https://vimeo.com/185717440

[ Chanuk Barnabas In | Conf 340 ]

Japanese Military Sexual Slavery (known as Comfort Women) History Education: through e-Museum of the Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery

Jiwoo Kim | CONF 340 | GMU

Japanese Military Sexual Slavery에 대한 이미지 검색결과

The current Korea-Japan relationship is so bad that it seems like there is no breakthrough. Issues of Japanese military sexual slavery, Dokdo, and the Yasukuni shrine which are the sensitive topics between Korea and Japan are unfolding all at once. The root cause of these problems is the distortion of the Japanese government’s perception of history, and the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery issue best illustrates this cause. The conflict over the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery issue has not ended, even at this point in the 21st century.

Japanese Military Sexual Slavery에 대한 이미지 검색결과

Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System

The Japanese Military Sexual Slavery system refers to crimes that the Japanese military committed from the 1930s to 1945 when Japan was in World War II. During that period, the Japanese military systematically set up ‘military comfort stations’ by recruiting women from colonized and occupied countries and forcing them to serve as sex slaves.

During the Shanghai Incident in 1932, rape by Japanese soldiers got more and more severe, and this led to an extreme anti-Japanese sentiment in occupied regions. Also, Japanese soldiers started to get a venereal infection, which interfered with the progress of the war. As a result, the ‘military comfort station’ system was established, and women from colonized regions were drafted against their will. According to the reports on the victims registered with the Korean government, the age of victims ranged from 11 to 27. Most of them were drafted by abduction and job fraud.

conflict between korea and japan comfort women에 대한 이미지 검색결과

The conflict between Korea and Japan over the issue of “Japanese Military Sexual Slavery”

The Korean and Japanese government failed to solve the sexual slavery problem even though prolonged effort over two decades. Postwar compensation has been a diplomatic hot potato among Northeast Asian countries. Specifically, in the negotiation of the Korean-Japanese naturalization of 1965, several problems such as forced laborer, victims of the atomic bomb, sex slavery were unsolved. After sex slave victims testified Japan’s wartime atrocities in 1991, civic groups, journalists, the ministry of foreign affairs, and the public engaged to argue on those complex issues. Due to the failure of solving those complex issues by government and judiciary sectors, the Korean civic groups and sex slave victims appeal to the international court and arena.

comfort women lecture에 대한 이미지 검색결과

The importance of resolving this conflict

The Japanese Military Sexual Slavery is concerned with the largest human rights matter because Military sexual slavery is a war crime and a crime against humanity according to International Law. Also, solving this problem is important for the peace order in Northeast Asia because South Korea and Japan should not only work closely together over the North Korean nuclear and missile issues but also play a central role in establishing peace order in Northeast Asia. Therefore, the restoration of Korea-Japan relations can bring peace to the international community. To resolve this conflict, the two countries should pursue mutual understanding and historical reconciliation based on a clear perception of historical facts. Therefore, educating future generations about the right history can be one important way to resolve this conflict. To restore the honor of the victims and enhance the people’s awareness of history and human rights, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family opened the ‘e-Museum of the Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery.’ This website can be effectively utilized for history education and peace-building services.

 E-Museum of ‘the Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery’

The resource provides various related materials and educational content, including general information to help understand Japanese Military Sexual Slavery. The resource is structured to expand understanding to the international community on the issue without being limited to South Korea by providing materials serviced in English, Japanese and Chinese. Also, this resource can be adapted for all age groups in various countries, but is especially suitable for primary and secondary school students in Korea, as it is designed to be used as a history textbook for them.

*Ways to use this resource: Educating the next generation

One of the ideal ways to integrate this e-Museum into the educational context is through formal education of school institutions. Educational institutions can systematically use this resource for educational purposes. More sophisticated planning will be needed to educate students and people outside of Korea.

  1. To educate Korean students 

The resource can be effectively used in strengthening education for elementary, middle and high school students in response to Japan’s distortion of history. Korean website offers educational materials and videos for each age range from elementary school students to high school students.

Educational materials provided on the Korean homepage: http://hermuseum.go.kr/main/PageLink.do?thirdMenuNo=&subMenuNo=030700&menuNo=030000&link=forward:/PageContent.do&tempParam1=&tabNo=2

1-1 Free textbook

[To know exactly what Japanese military sexual slavery (is)] is an educational textbook developed by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The textbook, “to know exactly what Japanese military sexual slavery” is a free one that can be downloaded from the online site. The textbook contains major issues to help us understand the whole issue. It consists of six types of powerpoint materials that could conduct in classes according to the level of elementary, middle and high school students, and workbooks that are used for students’ study and activities. The government needs to provide support for the classes and teacher training so that related history education can be actively conducted in front of education sites by utilizing such materials.

comfort women lecture에 대한 이미지 검색결과

1-2 A group special lecture

This resource supports special group lectures related to the issue of ” Japanese Military Sexual Slavery”. Educational institutions can apply for these group special classes to educate students. It is only supported in Korea, and the organization should pay for the preparation of educational venues and the fees for instructors. Educational applications/question can be made by e-mail or phone.

(e-mail: hermuseum@Koreakr. / 02-2100-6428)

For more information : https://www.crezone.net/?programs=%EC%9D%BC%EB%B3%B8%EA%B5%B0%EC%9C%84%EC%95%88%EB%B6%80-%ED%94%BC%ED%95%B4%EC%9E%90-e-%EC%97%AD%EC%82%AC%EA%B4%80-%EC%9D%BC%EB%B3%B8%EA%B5%B0%EC%9C%84%EC%95%88%EB%B6%80-%EB%AC%B8%EC%A0%9C-%EB%8B%A8&tab_act=listing_description

2. To educate international students

To use this resource to educate international students, a variety of language support and content supplementation are first required. Although English-language sites exist, English-language websites do not have the same educational materials and contents posted on Korean online sites, and there are many services such as group special lectures only supported in Korea. So far, for example, only 10 victims’ testimonies have been translated into the English-language website of the e-history. In addition to Chinese and English, there should be a variety of language support and sufficient and diverse content delivery as much as Korea so that people around the world can view the resources and refer to them in education. It is also necessary to provide appropriate educational materials for international students.

*The following resources can also be used as educational material for international students to understand the problem more easily.

Subtitle support services are needed to target the international community.
This image is a scene from a webtoon
called ‘A Story of A Comfort Woman – Tattoo.’ This link allows you to view the English translation of the entire webtoon
. https://foxtalk.tistory.com/98

An effective way for educators to use this resource for international students is to suggest a link between the ‘Japanese military sexual slavery ‘ with a country’s current issues. Japanese military sexual slavery issue has many connected themes such as patriarchal system, colonization, imperialism, and misogyny. Also, unfortunately, these problems are still ongoing in so many countries. Therefore, linking ‘Japanese military sexual slavery to the country’s problems will be a good foundation for international students to understand.

For example, in Uganda and Congo, the Japanese military sexual slavery issue can be incorporated into the issue of wartime sexual violence. Also, the State of California proposes to teach Japanese military sexual slavery issue for women’s rights issues, while the San Francisco Board of Education proposes to teach it concerning the issue of women’s rights. Through the correlation between ‘Japanese military sexual slavery ‘ and facing problems, educators can make this resource a very effective educational tool.

Resources used for this article

http://hermuseum.go.kr/eng/mainPage.do

What is Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System

Arts in Peacebuilding

Hyun Gyu Jeon / CONF 340 / Dec 3, 2019

Along with the other kinds of peace building theories and practices, arts have been used as one of the ways toward building peace. Arts have been used to serve as a means of making people aware of the impacts of violence, expressing their different cultures, providing opportunities to collaborate interculturally, as well as engaging and healing the traumatic experiences of victims. On the other hand, it also has had potential to serve different objectives. For example, it has been used to re-traumatize victims of conflict in some cases by propaganda.

As more and more people find the importance of arts in conflict resolution and peace building, scholars in fields of conflict and peace are contributing to the development of peace education through arts and are drawing attention to its application on a lot of cases. Now, it is not only used by the artists but also by professional practitioners in conflict resolution to capitalize on arts in building peace.

One of the cases of arts in peace building took place in Nairobi. As a result of an informal settlement of leader in Kibera, the post-election violence happened as a form of aggressive protest. Here, the art was not used as a means of peace building in the first place. People began painting and writing slogans, such as ‘Keep Peace,’ ‘Peace Wanted Alive,’ ‘Keep Peace Fellow Kenyans’ everywhere in the city. They believed that such visual expressions were more powerful than their voices. Then, a coalition government was formed at the end of February 2008, following the protest, which ended the violence. Afterwards, all the paintings and writings were left and made people be traumatized of the experience. Under the lead of artists group called Maasai Mbili in Kibera, a temporary art museum, basing the whole area, was created in the city. People came out and expressed themselves in arts for a few weeks after the end of the violence. It later found out that the drawings of the people were about what they wanted to see or do in the future, their hopes, and wishes. Such a harmonious nature was viewed through paintings and writings in the city, which gave them a feeling of value. It worked as a means of healing.

Likewise, conflicting parties can make use of arts in different ways, and it can be carried on by various groups of people, including artists and conflict resolution practitioners in the field. It is true that arts do not always work successfully in all cases of violence and it is not always applicable as well. However, it does have an impact on conflicting parties, and that it is important to note because not only artists and those professional practitioners can use it. Anyone, whether professional or not, can implement arts in cases of conflict, like the way people of Kenya dealt with violence.

References

Female Education in South Sudan: Through Media and Cash Transfer

Seoyeong Jo/ CONF 340

south sudan girls education에 대한 이미지 검색결과

ABSTRACT

The article focuses on female education program called Girl’s Education South Sudan (GESS) in South Sudan and how it helps to educate girls and other vulnerable classes who don’t have access to proper education. GESS’s two main activities for promoting girl’s education in South Sudan are radio programe and cash transfers.  Through these two main activities, the article will address how GESS reduces the gender gap in education and helps children to get away from the post-war trauma and to have the right to receive education.

The purpose of this article is to propose effective way to implement programs to regain the educational rights of the vulnerable classes, especially to the South Sudan’s educational officials, teachers, non-governmental organizations and international organizations, as well as countries at all levels. Furthermore, this article shows the direction of how to recognize the importance of female education in the community, against patriarchal system, early marriage, and gender discrimination.

Importance of female education

South Sudan is a country that newly emerged in 2011 and still struggling through the pain of civil war. Trauma by civil war and the collapse of social infrastructure have threatened South Sudan’s economy and exacerbated poverty. With this humanitarian crisis, education for children in South Sudan is not secured. According to UNICEF, more than 70% of South Sudanese children, or which is 2 million, are out of the school. Education for children between the ages of 6 and 13 is free and compulsory education in the country, but the nation’s severe famine, unstable security, and low-quality education system are depriving children’s educational opportunities. Among them, the most marginalized children in education are girls, with about 70% of the female population being illiterate. Also, it is very difficult for girls to even access education facilities due to poverty, early marriage, and cultural/religious norms. Thus, the enrolment rates of girls are lower than for boys of all grades.

I think education is the most effective way to solve the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and it helps to overcome trauma caused by past civil wars. I believe that intensively supporting the education system for all children, especially the underprivileged, will be of great help to the future of South Sudan. There is still a widespread social and religious norm in South Sudan that against female education. However, children where born to an educated mother have a 50% higher chance of survival, and girls who attends school have a lower risk of early marriage, early pregnancy, and sex crimes. Also, educated parents are more likely to send their children to school, which could raise the education rate in South Sudan in the future. Therefore, supporting female education contributes to eliminate early marriage and sexual violence in South Sudan. It can also helps to remove socio-cultural barriers of gender towards education and help girls gain that they hae right to participate in the Sudanese community.

GESS SOuth sudan에 대한 이미지 검색결과

GESS program to support girl’s education

Recognizing the importance and lack of an educational system for female, Ministry of General Education and Instruction of South Sudan implemented the Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS) program in 2012. The purpose of the GESS is to provide direct education cash transfer to female students and to seek community change to improve awareness and learning rates for girl’s education.

– MEDIA PROGRAM

As a peace education, GESS uses the radio to promote Social and behavior change towards education. The radio program is a 15-minute-long radio show that addresses the challenges of girls and their families face in school enrollment and learning. The radio interviews the female students, teachers, and parents in seven states. The show tells the anecdotes of the hardships that interviewees face and serves as an educational role model by explaining why education is important to women and suggests how to overcome obstacles. In addition, GESS works with the BBC to produce a radio program called “Our School” and broadcasts on 25 local radio stations and two national stations. Our School mainly emphasizes the advantages that students have when they remain in school and advises parents on solving realistic challenges such as how to get to school safely and how to pay tuition. Moreover, Our School actively communicates with local residents by setting up a section to discuss education directly with listeners over the phone.

– CASH TRANSFER

Another serious education problem in South Sudan is that the student’s school completion rate is very low. Many students, especially girls, quit school mainly for financial reasons, even if they are in the middle of their academic years. Since poverty is a major barrier to education, GESS aims to lower economic barriers for girls to enroll in school and graduate through financial support. Cash transfer is an educational subsidy that is directly paid to girls who enroll in school and attend regularly. All female students at primary and secondary schools who constantly attend school are eligible for cash transfers at least once a year. In 2018, about 200,000 girls benefited from cash transfer. According to a survey conducted by Forcier Consulting in September 2015, GESS’s cash transfer program provided the full amount of cash directly to the recipient student and, in almost all cases, the recipient girl used the money for educational support items such as textbook and notes. In addition, this program helped girls pay for their registration fees.

The greatest achievement of the GESS’s cash transfer program is the establishment of a mechanism to deliver government funds to elementary schools in areas occupied by anti-government militants. South Sudan’s education ministry had no clear way to deliver government funds to anti-government elementary schools. However, cooperation with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the South Sudanese government, GESS has succeeded in providing government aid to elementary schools in anti-government areas as well as delivering UK AID donations. With successful cooperation with the government and foreign aid foundations, GESS is currently engaged in cash transfer activities at more than 3,400 schools.

Ways to use this resource effectively

I believe that radio programs and cash transfers are the most familiar and effective way to implement peace education for girls in a patriarchal society where awareness of education is low and early marriage is frequent. A more effective way for female students and citizens to use radio and cash transfer is for the government and educators to promote GESS and complement radio and cash transfer programs by using the following methods:

–Continuous partnership with non-profit organizations like GESS

In order to change the negative perception of female education, the central government and local governments should actively cooperate to implement policies on girls’ education. However, currently education policies in South Sudan are mainly focused on men. The quality of education in schools is also low due to frequent threats from militant groups and post-war trauma. In particular, girls living in rural areas are more isolated from education than any other class in South Sudan. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for the South Sudanese government alone to establish systematic female education policies. Therefore, the government should actively cooperate with non-profit organizations such as GESS to help female students attend school and increase the school graduation rate by directly paying cash to female students living in conflict or poverty areas. The current government is a partner with GESS, but it is time for the nation to establish a solid relationship with organizations that actively implement education programs nationwide.

–Regular education conference

There is a limitation in GESS’s radio program since students and parents who live in poor areas don’t have access to listen to the show. Therefore, educators should hold regular education conferences from region to region so that all classes can access the content covered by radio programs. Participants at the conference are students, parents, teachers, and government education officials. Teachers and education officials at elementary, middle and high schools should systematically explain the importance of education, especially for girls. The conference should also include an explanation of how the tuition used, school curriculum, and meal system in school. Education conferences must be held at least once a semester, and after the conference, educators and education officials must take question and answer sessions to communicate with citizens.

Conclusion

In South Sudan, where the education system has been disrupted by a long civil war, GESS provides information on education through the media and gradually change the perception of women’s education in a patriarchal society. GESS also helps to increase the education rate of girls in the poor and vulnerable class through financial support. Furthermore, cash transfer helps to manage the school facilities and improve the quality of education by delivering funds to schools. In other words, GESS’s media program and cash transfer especially fits well with elementary and secondary girls in South Sudan, who have low access to education.

Through these programs, female student will be able to vividly plan and build their own future that was unimaginable in the past. Education allows girls to move away from a patriarchal society, and take their own leading thoughts and actions. Therefore, these two resources, which help directly receive education, can be used to develop the power to enable marginalized women to lead change in the community and further within the country.

The two main stakeholders in this project are the South Sudanese government and educators. Through this article, they can undestand how female students receive education and what kinds of major educational activities being conducted in South Sudan. Through this information, they will be able to establish policies to help and improve GESS’s programs. Also, through the Peace Learner website, they can learn the types of peace education forms, which can be used as a role model for improving education in South Sudan.

You can share additional questions on this topic with your colleagues. Here are some questions I recommend…

1) How does sexism in South Sudan affect education?

2) What do you think is the most effective way to solve the education gap between boys and girls?

3) What is the most urgent issue to address in order to improve South Sudan’s low-quality education?

Resource used:

http://girlseducationsouthsudan.org/behavioural-change-communication/ https://odihpn.org/magazine/education-development-in-a-fragile-environment-lessons-from-girls-education-south-sudan/

Photo resource: http://ssmogei.org/programmes/