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Peace+: Building a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence
Start date: May 16, 2016, End date: Oct 15, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Context: The training team recognises the need to create trainings in order to be able to deal with and solve conflicts nonviolently, personally, interpersonally and internationally. We see a lack of opportunites for young people to learn and gain skills in nonviolence.There is an increasing violent atmosphere in Europe, with rising levels of Islamophobia, radicalisation and terrorist attacks. This rising 'violent trend' calls for spaces to learn about nonviolence, conflict resolution and peacebuilding in an inter-cultural environment. It requires a new way of thinking, a different voice, and international cooperation and understanding. We want to counter radicalization, by helping participants to deconstruct prejudices and promote values of tolerance and inclusion, as well as give them a birds-eye perspective on how different social problems are inter-connected in systems of violence. Finally, youth are particularly sensitive to violent ideologies and they are the ones that can impact our future the most, especially those already in leadership positions. It is thus important to educate them about the causes of violence and conflict and ways to manage and prevent it. Nonviolence and Peacebuilding are ways to empower youth to co-create a culture of peace. Objectives: The over-all aim is to empower youth workers by knowledge, skills, insights and experiences so they can built a culture of peace and sustain peaceful international relations in and around the EU. The objectives indicate how. Objectives are:1.To give youth workers the chance to reflect on nonviolence and their way of dealing with it in their personal and professional life, offering tools to resolve conflicts, possibly prevent them and build more peace in both their jobs and private lives.2.To present the opportunity to practice conflict resolution and communication skills in a culturally diverse setting, so that youth workers can understand the democratic principle 'agree to disagree', as well as the principle 'different but equal'. 3. To counter radicalization of youth by letting them experience and understand ‘positive peace’ (valuing diversity and establish respect in community building), structural and cultural violence, meaning they challenge and deconstructing prejudices and get a birds-eye perspective on how different social problems are inter-connected in systems of violence.4.To facilitate intercultural understanding and cooperation as well as synergy in the field of youth work, by exchanging insights and knowledge among youth workers during (and after) the program and develop connections among them.Participants: We intend to involve youth workers who want to incorporate Nonviolent methods and principles in their work. Their involvement in the social sector will ensure their capacity to directly impact youth, or indirectly affect society through policy, advocacy, lobbying, or research. We try to ensure a gender balance with at least 1/3 male participants.Activities and results: Participants will be given the possibility to reflect on their own ways of dealing with conflicts, and become capable to change their behaviour. They will reflect on automatic responses to violence, layers of violence, the use of power and inequality, the relation between violence and economy, and they will learn about forms of nonviolent action based on historical examples, elements for a culture of peace and nonviolence (UN declaration), Human Rights, and aquire tools to promote inter-cultural understanding, such as Nonviolent Communication, and Conflict Resolution games. Moreover, we've seen that learning also takes place outside the workshops: living in a communal building is a chance to create a peaceful society on a micro level.Participants will familiarise with non-formal education methods deepening their existing interpersonal skills or gaining new ones, and evaluating their progress, while filling in their Youth Pass certificate. In addition, they will establish relationships from which future cooperation may spring, multiplying the effects of this TC and thereby adding value to Erasmus+. Impact: On the local level: participanst will have an understanding of nonviolence in the daily lives, and 'systems of violence', increased capacity to deal with violence, use Non-Violent Communication to solve conflicts, use theater to explore power and inequality, and strategize nonviolent campaigns. This will have an impact on the local surroundings that the participants are in. At the european/international level: this project is an opportunity to built a network of European youth workers and improve European cooperation. The training will enhance the skills of youth workers in several countries and give new inspiration to solve problems. The project fosters inter-national cooperation and eventually enhaces a culture of peace, countering the rising level of violence and animosity inside Europe and at its at its neighboring region.

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