About the Training
Date: 13-20 April 2013 (including travel dates)
Place: Vilanova I la Geltrú, Barcelona
Open to all COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBER COUNTRIES
Understanding and Working with Conflict is an 8-day training course that aims to help young people to gain a new and improved appreciation of conflict, to deepen young people´s understanding about conflicts by closely looking at its nature and dynamics, and giving them practical skills and tools to transform their conflicts and learn from them. It will gather 30 youth workers, youth leaders and youth trainers from CoE member countries in Barcelona, Spain from 13th to 20th of April 2013.
The training will deal extensively with how to work with conflicts –its nature, types, how to analyse them, and different ways of dealing with them. Youth will learn and practice useful methods, which are inspiring and creative, based on arts, communication, dialogue and exchange. It aims to provide in-depth and holistic understanding of the conflicts in different levels.
The training starts from the idea that young people play an important role in conflict and violence in their societies. In one way or another, youth experience conflicts in their lives, making them vulnerable to resort to violent ways of responding to it. Social exclusion happens when young people suffer from a combination of linked problems derived from the continuing cycle of physical, social, cultural and structural violence - such as unemployment, poor skills, discrimination, lack of education, etc. This exclusion further creates a cycle of critical challenges facing young people, especially in the post-war regions, where thinking “outside the box” is needed.
Main Themes. Peace and human rights education, conflict transformation and nonviolence.
Issues Addressed.
Social Inclusion. This project addresses the social inclusion of young people in peace building processes. Youth who will directly benefit from this project will be able to reach out to those young people with fewer opportunities, such as those who are out of school, unemployed, discriminated groups, or those who have difficulties in integrating in society because of their background, economic conditions, or social status.
Youth Empowerment. The training also aims to address the lack of youth participation, empowerment and contribution in areas of holistic social development (entrepreneurship, youth leadership). Youth and youth organizations have valuable contributions in developing a democratic and sustainable society. This requires a long-term vision, where youth and their organizations are the main actors and resources committed to translate and implement the outcomes of European dialogue based on their experience and knowledge, through their active participation in social development.
Creativity. By giving youth practical approaches to conflicts and helping them explore alternatives to violence, the training aims to challenge the notion that youth are merely passive recipients of peacebuilding efforts and projects. Young people, with their creativity, energy and hope, are also sources of peaceful coexistence. Creative problem-solving strategies are essential to positive approaches to conflict. Young people can and need to transform conflicts from one with “limited solutions” to alternative and new possibilities.
Objective.
The main objective of this training is to empower young people in Europe, especially in conflict and post-conflict countries to take an active role in improving their own communities through a better understanding of conflicts and the practical tools to effectively deal with, and TRANSFORM them.
Specific objectives
-bring together youth all over Europe working on peace, human rights, and intercultural dialogue
-have a deepened understanding of conflict
-reflect on each participants’ own natural style of dealing with conflict, as well as to learn to recognise and respond to others’ conflict styles
-raise awareness on conflict issues* in Europe, especially those experienced by young people in different contexts
-introduce peace and human rights education as a framework in youth work
-learn different conflict analysis tools and how to use them in practice
- develop adequate skills, knowledge and tools needed to address different types of conflicts.
-introduce conflict transformation as a technique, nonviolent communication as a practical strategy
-learn about how /when to intervene in conflict
-promote mutual respect, tolerance, solidarity, and intercultural dialogue between European countries
-promote the EYF and create visibility of the wide range of opportunities that it offers for youth mobility, training, exchange, and development
Methodologies.
The training seeks to raise awareness of young people´s attitudes and actions, negative stereotypes and prejudices that contribute to the cycle of hurt, discrimination and upeaceful settlement of conflicts. The best way to (become fully aware of) this is through experiential learning – where we focus on non-formal learning methods to promote understanding and to achieve the training objectives.
Based on non-formal education, a co-learning environment will be ensured and sessions will include workshops, group discussions, games, role-plays and simulation exercises.
Implementation.
Through learner-centered teaching strategies of peace education, the training will be conducted by an international team of trainers/experts to build young people´s capacities in conflict work by teaching them skills and strategies that are useful within their own contexts and experience - KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTITUDES.