USAID Programs Building Peace by Encouraging Youth to Think Critically
“We should stop listening to our ancestors about wars and conflict because that will only engender hate," says Jelena Burgic, a participant in a USAID-sponsored peacebuilding and conflict transformation training.
Jelena, a Serbian Kosovar is not alone; her views are shared by other youth from Obiliq/Obilic municipality, all participants in the training organized by the Balkans Youth without Borders (BYWB), a regional USAID-supported project implemented through the National Albanian American Council in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro. The training is part of a larger peace-building initiative aimed at eliminating fear and stereotypes by helping youth think critically about the world and their role in it. The training curriculum is designed to cultivate a culture of peace by providing an environment where cooperative and participatory learning methods are employed to create an atmosphere of understanding, care, and respect. Through peace education, participants are focused to think rather than coached on what to think, as previously done. These types of initiatives will help facilitate knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to achieve and sustain a local and global culture of peace.
As Besfort Kurshumliu, an Albanian Kosovar said, "This training has changed me. I have never been so brave to trust myself as an agent of peace. I am determined to work toward peace and reconciliation in our community, which is multiethnic and very diverse."
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| Cooperative and participatory learning encourages cross-cultural
understanding and respect among teens from different ethnic groups |
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