APPROACH
The NewGen Peacebuilders program helps young people understand frameworks related to power, conflict, violence and peace; develop project planning and management skills; and embrace peacebuilding as a personal responsibility.
NewGen Peacebuilders trains and equips young people to:
Truly understand drivers of conflict and peace
Imagine innovative solutions that create change
Take positive actions to address issues affecting a community or communities
The result is empowered young leaders who are equipped to build bridges for the rest of their lives.
Through a unique and propriety program design, NewGen Peacebuilders presents a wide range of research-based content on conflict and peace, and engages participants through: dialogue, discussion and creative exercises; project management skills training; personal reflection. To become certified, participants complete team peace projects.
Spriha Manjigani, NewGen Peacebuilders alumna
“… We’re used to thinking about creating peace by reducing what’s bad. That’s important but it’s not enough. Peace stems from creating good conditions for everyone. And it feels more like creating connections so we can spend less time thinking about protecting ourselves, and more time nurturing our relationships.”
The Experience
NewGen Peacebuilders programs, supported by teachers and volunteers, train and mentor participants to understand and explore well-researched drivers of conflict and peace, identify issues and opportunities of local concern, work with facts/data, and be mentored to develop positive peace projects. Students and teachers are guided by NewGen Peacebuilders facilitators and volunteer conversation leaders trained to deliver content, dialogues and activities to develop the “Head, Heart and Hands” of peacebuilding and youth-led team action peace projects.
Tools and Frameworks
Content leverages the NewGen Peacebuilders 7H Framework. Students learn to use established frameworks to consider how power, conflict, violence and peace intersect. Among these are four that are well-known in conflict resolution and peacebuilding: Galtung’s Triangle of Violence to distinguish different types of violence; 5 Spheres of Peace to examine right relationships; Eight Pillars of Peace to understand systemic drivers of conflict & peace; Conflict Mapping to analyze a specific conflict.
