Social-Emotional Learning for peace and development
Why is Social Emotional Learning important for peace building?
Social Emotional Learning is fundamental in peace building and conflict resolution as it gives leaders and the youth growth and change tools to have resilient dialogues, and find non-violent solutions to some of the most complex socio-political problems in the world today.
Social and Emotional Learning Capacity Building Workshop in Jammu & Kashmir in partnership with UNESCO MGIEP
Curriculum: Prevention of Violent Extremism through Education Curriclumn (Youth waging peace guidebook), EMCC concepts, DICE, CIT concepts and theory.
Workshop 1: 31 Oct- 1 Nov 2020
Workshop 2: 28-29 Nov 2020
In collaboration with UNESCO MGIEP's Youth Waging Peace program, the main objective of the capacity-building workshop is to provide teachers from Jammu & Kashmir with the skills and tools for positive self and classroom transformation and for them to finally create an action plan collectively that they can take back to classrooms in Jammu and Kashmir. The goal is to equip teachers with the vocabulary to increase their own social emotional awareness, help process their own experiences in and out of the classroom and tune themselves better to the needs of the students.
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The Manifesto was the capstone project for the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP)’s virtual capacity building workshop on Social Emotional Learning in the classroom. You can find the link to the document below.
Teachers from Jammu & Kashmir sign a manifesto for Compassion in the Classroom
About the program:
24 candidates were selected to attend the teacher training programme representing the districts of Srinagar, Shopian, Anantnag, Budgam, Baramulla, Pulwama, Bandipora in the Kashmir valley and Kathua and Rajaouri in Jammu. The diverse batch of participants from across the spectrum of age (27-50 years old) and gender, equally represented government and private schools.
The workshop was to build teacher’s social and emotional competencies to enable them to implement activities to build inclusive classroom and school spaces that do not affect students on the basis of religion, gender, race and caste in the context of Jammu & Kashmir’s socio-political realities
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Context:
Kashmir as we know continues to be a place of deep trauma resulting from political and civil unrest. Given the socio-political situation in the Union Territory state, educators can play a unique role to redirect youth angst and trauma towards dialogue and peace. Education’s unique capacity to transform society from the ground up is what makes it the most powerful tool to end violent extremism and inculcate a spirit of mutual respect, curiosity and self-reflection. In line with its vision of 'Transforming Education for Humanity', the UNESCO MGIEP's programmes and products are designed to mainstream Social and Emotional Learning in education systems, innovate digital pedagogies and to put youth as global citizens at the centre of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.
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Participant testimonials:
"During the workshop designed by UNESCO MGIEP and The SEL Lab on Social Emotional Learning for educators in Jammu and Kashmir, we learnt different methodologies to create a compassionate classroom that can be a zone of peace for our children. It was a great learning experience that revived the real role of a teacher in the classroom." Dr Dushyant Pradeep, PhD (Physics), B.Ed, DCA, Jammu and Kashmir.
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"A compassionate classroom can be built by nurturing an emotionally safe and productive learning platform, one that reduces conflict, develops empathy and tolerance to help students deal with challenges in their lives and develop resilience." Dr. Jenifur Khan, Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir.
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What next?
2000 students will be directly impacted by this virtual training through the educators who are now equipped to take social and emotional literacy into their classrooms and schools.
UNESCO MGIEP, along with partners in the region, is now establishing an on-ground network in Jammu and Kashmir to be able to build a more sustainable model in the region.
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About UNESCO MGIEP
UNESCO MGIEP focuses on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world by developing programmes that promote social and emotional learning, innovate digital pedagogies and empower the youth.
GPI Young Ambassadors Training Program 2021 for the Global Peace Institute, UK
Curriculum: Resilience for Peace-building
Dates: 6-7 March 2021
The SEL Lab was proud to partner and support GPI's Young Ambassadors Training Program 2021 for the Global Peace Institute, UK. The training focussed on Resilience for peace building creating resilience dialogue for change and peacebuilding with young ambassadors advocating for conflict resolution and peace building across 22 nations across the globe.
Peace weaves by Bangla Natak and the US Consulate in Kolkatta
Curriculum: Understanding violent extremism, building social and emotional competencies to address gender sensitivity, and critical thinking.
Location- Kolkatta, India
The SEL Lab was proud to partner and support Peace weaves 2019 by Bangla Natak and the US Consulate in Kolkatta. The training focussed on understanding violent extremism, unpacking identities, biases and stereotyping, building social and emotional competencies to address gender sensitivity, and encourage respect for all and exercise the freedom to choose. The curriculum was developed focusing on peace building for young activists advocating for conflict resolution from Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Social and Emotional Learning Capacity Building Workshop in MANIPUR in partnership with UNESCO MGIEP
Curriculum: Prevention of Violent Extremism through Education Curriclumn (Youth waging peace guidebook), EMCC concepts, DICE, CIT concepts and theory.
Location: Imphal, Manipur
UNESCO’s action to prevent violent extremism through education (PVE-E) seeks to strengthen the capacities of national education systems (policies, teachers, and educational contents) to appropriately and effectively contribute to national prevention efforts. This includes equipping learners, of all ages, and notably young women and men, with the knowledge, values, attitudes and behavior, which foster responsible global citizenship, critical thinking, empathy and the ability to take action against violent extremism. For UNESCO MGIEP, it is specifically building the critical and social and emotional competencies of young men and women to wage peace.
Educators in Manipur with the Directorate of Education
About the program:
The UNESCO MGIEP workshop in Manipur saw participants from the entire spectrum of the education system in the state. The diverse crew of 23 participants with ranging from the ages of 23 to 53, from small private schools, to large governmental schools, from all remote regions and unrepresented tribes. The workshop aimed at creating a platform for teachers to address concerns around inclusivity and intentional dialogue in the classroom.
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Context:
The State of Manipur, like many other conflict and violent stricken places around the World, is engulfed in a vicious cycle of civil unrest, fear and hostility leading to frequent curfews, closure of schools and public services. The emotional and psychological effects of this situation, especially among the youth will require a systemic overhaul – beginning with education.
It is therefore, important to teach non-violence and kindness in youth and adolescents formative years if we aspire for a peaceful future. Education must strive to co-curate classrooms and school environments that are inclusive and free from all forms of discrimination. This includes ensuring that all pedagogies, language, content and mediums of delivery are attuned towards the objective of building peaceful prosocial behaviour among young learners - not ‘Othering’ them towards bullying and other violent behaviors.
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In line with its vision of 'Transforming Education for Humanity', the UNESCO MGIEP's programmes and products are designed to mainstream Social and Emotional Learning in education systems, innovate digital pedagogies and to put youth as global citizens at the centre of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.
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About UNESCO MGIEP
UNESCO MGIEP focuses on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world by developing programmes that promote social and emotional learning, innovate digital pedagogies and empower the youth.
North East Youth Conclave (India)
Curriculum: The role of youth contributing towards a culture of peace and non-violence
Location- Tezpur, Assam
The SEL Lab partnered with the North East Youth Conclave 2019 at Tezpur University, Assam. The training focussed on conflict resolution strategies and tools, peaceful dialogue and negotiation, and critical thinking.
The children that war displaced/The emotion of human displacement
Curriculum: Human rights, compassion studies and sense of agency
Lectures at schools : Jamnabai Narsee International School & Poddar International School
Location- Mumbai
This series of lectures were designed for children to understand the global refugee crisis from a social and emotional perspective. It was focussed on the understanding on human rights, compassion and a sense of agency.
Children of victims of terror attacks in Mumbai on 26/11
Curriculum: Social Emotional Learning for children affected by extreme violence
Partner : Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust
This series of workshops was focussed on children that had lost their parents in terror attacks in Mumbai. The curriculum was designed focusing on social emotional competencies for children affected by extreme violence.
