ToNoWo-Learning Peace

Towards a Nonviolent World’s Learning Peace is a program for youth workers to acquire knowledge, insights and professional skills in nonviolent conflict transformation and peacebuilding, by non-formal participatory learning processes. The ‘power’ of this training is that it both explores violence (the problems) and nonviolence (many creative solutions).

This training aimed to empower youth workers by knowledge, skills and insights, so they can prevent escalation of violence, transform conflicts and engage in peaceful interactions and relations, creating a support network of like-minded friends. This aim is achieved by our objectives:

1. To increase awareness and knowledge about violence and nonviolence, peacebuilding and conflict transformation, by actively engaging them with several relevant key ideas and models,
2. To develop skills through practicing innovative conflict transformation, effective communication, role-plays of nonviolent actions, analysing and strategizing.
3. To provide the necessary input and inter-cultural setting to impact youth worker’s beliefs and behaviours, so they can respond to challenges they face in their work, preventing violent escalation, constructively transforming conflict, and building peaceful relationships.
4. To lay the foundation of professionalism and international collaboration in the field of youth work, by networking, collaborating across cultural or ideological differences, and exchanging a diverse range of experiences and (local) knowledge.

23 people from nine different countries came together in Heerlen, in The Netherlands, to participate in this training. We used non-formal learning methods to gain knowledge and skills in nonviolent conflict transformation and peacebuilding. The training program is structured in such a way that it first establishes a common understanding of key terms, and than engages people in shorter and longer role plays.