Background
Building and sustaining positive peace in the Asia-Pacific requires a holistic approach to resolve and redress unjust structural social, political, cultural and economic factors to build stability, prosperity, harmony and progress. ‘Positive peace’ in this context is not just the absence of conflict, or ‘negative peace’ lacking durability, but the presence of justice and equality within and between societies.
Ahead of the March 2021 Together for Peace conference, UNESCO Asia and the Pacific Regional Bureau for Education will be hosting a series of three webinars to explore different dimensions of positive peace and solicit engagement from National Commissions, development partners, other education policy-makers, teachers and school staff, and the general public. Prior to each webinar, UNESCO will urge participants to offer their feedback, best practices and experiences regarding the theme and the relation to positive peace in their own contexts.
This participation needs to be encouraged in advance to inform the webinar sessions and also to engage key parties in the conversation ahead of the March conference. A key strategy will be to give participants ownership of the initiative building towards the conference and for concrete action moving forward.
Common urgent issues across the region include (but are not limited to) the climate crisis and environmental degradation; social and economic inequalities and injustices; extreme diversity leading to misunderstandings, exclusion, marginalization and violence; disengaged and disenfranchised youth; lack of quality, relevant and sensitive education; and violence against women and children.
The complementary communications campaign will include continued op-eds and policy papers; positive peace, youth voices and personal statements on positive peace; a series of infographics and (TBD) posters featuring case studies from partners; and the Silent Manga Audition exhibition and supporting materials.
All of these will be shared with the public via traditional and social media, as well as on UNESCO and partners’ digital platforms, as well as presented to key partners such as National Commissions in the Director’s monthly newsletter.
The webinars will be organized around three themes that relate to positive peace. Those elements are:
- 27 January – Transformative Pedagogies for Peace (Webinar recorded on YouTube)
- 16 February – Building Ethical and Sustainable Relations between Humanity and Nature (Webinar recorded on YouTube)
- 9 March – Super Diversity
Planning groups for each webinar to determine topics, speakers, moderators and full agenda (TBC):
- Webinar 1: Nyi Nyi Thaung, Mark Manns, Kristy Bang and Nandini Chatterjee (MGIEP),
- Webinar 2: Benno Böer, Wenxi Zhu, Mark Manns and Jakarta Office,
- Webinar 3: Misako Ito, Duong Bich Hanh, Mark Manns and Almaty Office
Format: Interactive with breakout rooms for discussion
Preparation: Submit case studies (showcased in the agenda), submit questions in advance, waiting room
The following questions will be addressed during the webinars:
- How do themes such as social and emotional learning, the environment and climate crisis, and super diversity affect positive peace, both in terms of long-term challenges that could lead to conflict and opportunities to create empathy and build consensus?
- Within communities, how can students and youth have the opportunity to have their voices heard and take leadership roles in building positive peace?
- Given the COVID-19 situation, both public health and socio-economic disruption, what are the main concerns about long-term effects on positive peace, particularly for vulnerable communities as well as women and girls in the region?
- What are the risk mitigation measures to ensure strengthen and support communities, especially vulnerable, to build positive peace internally and with other groups?
- What practical actions can be taken in the short, medium, and long term to build positive peace, related to the webinar theme, including psychological, physical, emotional and socioeconomic welfare?
The answers to these questions will make an important contribution to develop relevant and targeted strategies in building a more inclusive and equitable society based on the principles of holistic positive peace.
Objectives:
1) Generate dialogue based on the input of T4P Experts, solicit feedback from National Commission and other partners regarding case studies and best practices, with an emphasis on positive examples of building peace within communities.
2) Increase engagement with National Commission Officers, UN partners, educators, youth and the general public by giving them a voice in the discussion via the panel discussions, Q&A sessions and multimedia presentations. Build active partnerships ahead of the March conference.
3) Identify concrete policies and programmes, in education and intersectoral, to build positive peace. Promote intercultural dialogue contextualizing positive peace in participants’ experience.
Audience:
The audience for the webinar will be National Commission colleagues, UN Agencies, Embassies, educators and education policy-makers, donor agencies, students and youth, and the general public.
Working Language
English will be the working language of the webinar.
Preliminary Agenda (timing subject to change to accommodate regional time zones)
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Wednesday 27 January, Tuesday 16 February, Tuesday 9 March 2021 |
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10.30 – 11.00 |
Registration: Waiting Room - T4P Youth Videos |
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11.00 – 11.10 |
Welcome and Introduction: Director’s Speech and overview of webinar goals. If sufficient time, one or more of the following:
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11.10 – 11.30 |
Keynote: Scene-setting presentation and clear explanation of theme’s connection to building positive peace, emphasizing intersectionality of the initiative |
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11.30 – 12.00 |
Panel discussion
Moderator: TBD |
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12.00 – 12.45 |
Breakout rooms: Set themes with worksheets based on preparatory submissions |
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12.45 – 12.55 |
Summary: Report back on worksheet summary and next steps looking ahead to future webinars, soliciting feedback on relevant themes, and highlighting preparations |
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12.55 – 13.00 |
Closing remarks: Partner’s vision of positive peace in the region |
Main photo credit: ©Shutterstock/Patrick Foto
