Galaxy for Peace and Integrity Initiative launched the “Teach Peace Early Lesson Manual” (TPELM), comprising of 18 Lesson Modules on Peace Education under the “Teach Peace Early” program for children and adolescents in age range 5-18 years. The digital tool made available on the organisation’s website for use by teachers, parents, guardians, and schools, has lessons for two different age groups with lesson modules on conflict resolution, effective communication, value for human life and rights, tolerance, forgiveness, empathy, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, consent, and lots more.
Developed by Galaxy4Peace team of volunteers with backgrounds in education, psychology, curriculum development, educational psychology, and teaching. This easy to use digital tool with the objective of empowering the target audience with capacities on constructive ways of reducing, resolving, and managing conflicts is designed for teachers, parents, guardians, schools and made available on www.galaxy4peace.org.
This must-have free resources for schools, friendly centres, has been designed to drive a culture of peace by teaching children peace education standards that help impart a responsible peace focused value system in them and as such empower them with the skills to prevent, reduce, and resolve conflict constructively in their school space or any environment they find themselves.
“Across the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western parts of Nigeria, there have been countless events threatening peaceful co-existence and human lives preservation, such as kidnappings, banditry, terrorist attacks, land boundary tussles, agitations. These lead to deaths and destruction of lives and properties causing a significant strain on our psyche and mental wellbeing. Sadly, violent conflict has also crept into the school system with records of bullying, harassment, and violence being perpetrated by young people.
These events contribute to factors that negatively affect our development and these unresolved issues need urgent, sustainable, and collective action. In order to solve these challenges, it is imperative to include Peace Education in the national curriculum to empower the future generation with the necessary skills to resolve social issues and lots more”, said Precious Ajunwa, Founder & Program Director of Galaxy4Peace.
Speaking further, Ms Ajunwa said, “with peacebuilding being a more proactive approach that uses peace education as a means of creating a more stable and peaceful culture, thereby preventing violent conflicts from arising, Galaxy4Peace started TeachPeaceEarly program in Nigeria. As part of our effort in driving the peace education agenda as an avenue of building sustainable peace amid the COVID19 crisis, which followed with the lockdown of schools where we chiefly conduct “Teach Peace Early” program in schools, we leveraged the new normal and designed this easy-to-use digital tool on peace education that would support parents, guardians, and teachers in teaching Peace Education in homes and schools”.
Delivering a keynote address, Lagos State Honourable Commissioner of Education, Mrs Folasade Adefiso, represented by Mrs Janet Fagorusi, Director Basic Education Services commented, “there is an urgent need to embark on teaching of peace education to children who are the leaders of tomorrow. Catching them young at the formative age is crucial because it will help them gain knowledge, enhance their peacebuild skills and support in character modelling of a child which will abet them with the right and accountable attitude to life”.
She further opined that inculcating peace in children actually begins from the home, by the parents who are the child’s first teacher, and in the same fashion teachers and school management has a vital role to play in shaping the lives of this children by teaching them to abstain from all forms of violence, bitterness and be a peace-loving Generation Z.
While commending Galaxy4Peace for the important work they are doing in peacebuilding, she ended by emphasizing that all hands must be on deck and highlighted the role collaboration must play for the growth of peace education in our society.
Capturing vital assertions from the speakers at this launch moderated by Content Producer Eyek Ntekim, Rafui Lawal, Regional Coordinator, West & Central Africa, United Network of Young Peacebuilders noted that peace at whatever cost is cheaper than violence.
Safiya Ibn Garba, Director of Institutional Learning, Generations for Peace, said “start teaching peace as early as possible, the foundation is the most important part of the building”. “Government must be involved for the successful advancement of peace education, given that this type of education requires collaborative approach”, Zander Willoughby, Program Manager, +PlusPeaceCo commented, and young female peacebuilder Ruhamah Ifere, reminded participants that strategic collaboration between NGOs and private sectors will aid promoting Peace Education.
Prior to the development of “Teach Peace Early Lesson Module”, Galaxy4Peace team has successfully implemented TeachPeaceEarly program in 20 schools in Nigeria reaching 23,000 students using USIP Peace Education Curriculum with recorded impacts such as reduction in bullying and violence by 47% – 52% in the schools of operation. With feedback from parents on the attitudinal change of their child’s behaviour, designing “Teach Peace Early Lesson Modules” (TPELM) in a global pandemic year motivates us to look forward to making more impact with the tool.
Galaxy4Peace plans to roll out this program to 100 schools before the end of 2021, beginning with training of school teachers in charge of extra-curricular activities in the selected schools across Nigeria, starting from Lagos State. While anticipating to receive support from parents, schools, NGOs, State governments, various Ministries of Education, corporate bodies whose Corporate Social Responsibility goal is in line with SDGs 4 & 16, join us in shaping what comes next because peace works better when we TeachPeaceEarly.
About Galaxy4Peace
Galaxy for Peace and Integrity Initiative (Galaxy4Peace), is a volunteer- female-led peacebuilding focused organisation working on United Nation Resolution Council Youth Peace and Security (2250), and Women Peace & Security (1325) in Nigeria through initiatives, interventions and advocacy.
Teach Peace Early Program is a three-four months Peace Education program executed in schools, and friendly centres in Nigeria. It has been designed to drive a culture of peace by teaching children peace values that helps them shape responsible peace focused value system. This program engages young people between the ages of 5 and 18 years with the skills to prevent, reduce and resolve conflict constructively in their school space or any environment they find themselves. The project adopts both primary and secondary schools, with students covering lessons on tolerance, conflict resolution, human rights, conflict management using Peace Education tools and thereafter start up a club in some schools.
This program has been successfully implemented in 20 schools in Nigeria reaching 23,000 students with recorded impacts such as reduction in bullying and violence by 47% – 52% in the schools of operation. Feedback from parents on the attitudinal change of their child’s behaviour, motivates us to look forward to making more impact using the Teach Peace Early Lesson Modules (TPELM) developed in 2020, a global pandemic year.
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