The “First Peace Educator Workshop for the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM) in 2019” took place at the Kenya Education Management Institute on 11th December.
Hosted by KNATCOMHWPL, the workshop was organized by an international NGO named HWPL affiliated with the UN ECOSOC. Thirty-four people – including principal education officer at the Ministry of Education, deputy director of programme at KNATCOM and educators from UNESCO associated schools – participated in the event.
Building peace
The peace education workshop was organised to enable educators from UNESCO associated schools to experience and practice peace value education in the fields through presentation sessions on peace education materials and pilot class.
HWPL says peace education serves as a global platform with the aim of “leaving peace as a legacy to the future generations.”
This is done by raising awareness of building peace from citizens and fostering a culture of peace to challenge the threat from war and violence.
Ms Dorah Kitala, the principal education officer in the Ministry of Education said, “Peace education textbooks and the curricula are innovative. After the demonstration, I could feel that peace education is necessary in Kenya and would work with HWPL in the future.”
With the need for teaching values of peace to Kenyan students, 20 educators from UNESCO associated schools signed an agreement on teaching the right character for those who would carry the future of the country and to disperse peace education in Kenya.
HWPL has endorsed peace education in over 220 educational institutions globally and established partnerships with government agencies (Ministry of Education) to introduce peace education for students, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Guatemala.
HWPL, KNATCOM and the Ministry of Education of Kenya are considering formalizing peace education activities throughout the country.
