About Education For Peace
What is Education for Peace?
Education for Peace (EFP) is an innovative and integrative “whole school” program that creates violence-free and peaceful school environments conducive to meeting the emotional, social, and intellectual needs of diverse school populations.
Education for Peace (EFP) is based on universal principles of peace that affirm:
- Humanity is one;
- The oneness of humanity is expressed in diversity;
- The greatest opportunity before humanity is to safeguard its oneness and protect its diversity; and
- The greatest challenge before humanity is to accomplish this task through peaceful means, with a particular focus on educating every new generation of children and youth according to these principles.
The main objectives of the EFP Program is to create in the participating schools:
- A Culture of Peace—creating violence-free, bullying-free, harmonious, and peaceful environments throughout the school community;
- A Culture of Healing—creating an environment conducive to helping all members of the school community to gradually recover from the negative effects of conflict and violence that they may have experienced in their lives; and
- A Culture of Excellence—creating an environment conducive to excellence in all aspects of the lives of members of the school community: academic, behavioral, ethical, and relational.
EFP engages all members of the school community—students, teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents/guardians (to the extent possible)—in the study and practice of EFP principles in classrooms, school environments, and within the families of the students as depicted below:
International Education for Peace Institute
The International Education for Peace Institute was founded in 2000 in Switzerland and later in Canada. The institute is a registered research, training, and community service under the Canadian Law. It is an independent, not-for-profit, association without any religious or political affiliation. EFP-International is accredited as an international NGO with the United Nations. The institute draws upon the expertise of an international faculty specialized in the fields of curriculum development, peace education, conflict resolution, political science, sociology, religious studies, law, and psychology. The faculty works closely with local educators, pedagogues, counselors, psychologists, sociologists, and administrators to develop and implement context-appropriate EFP Programs in their respective schools, families, and community institutions in various cultural contexts. A network of like-minded organizations: EFP–BALKANS (Sarajevo), EFP–CANADA (Victoria, Canada), AND EFP-MEXICO collaborate with EFP–INTERNATIONAL on research, training, community development, and consultancy work.
To learn more about the Education for Peace Program refer to http://efp.pathwisedev.ca/program-areas/education-for-peace
