In a contract with the UNDP, in its project titled “Integrating Peace Building into Educational Channels”; …For Development and Center for Active Citizenship set out to integrate peace building into formal and non-formal educational channels in Lebanese schools in Beirut Suburbs and Bekaa. The project tackled the gaps in knowledge, attitudes and practices of the students through training and capacity building of educators and nurtured a cultured of joint planning and execution of shared initiatives.
The school selection was undertaken together with the UNDP, Ministry of Education and Higher Education and UNHCR to determine priority locations based on updated information, including the relative mix of Lebanese and Syrian refugee students.
Phase III of the project was The Big Game.
In phase III, a big activity (in the form of big games), was implemented with the students in each of the 15 targeted schools. The game was aimed at raising awareness of the importance of diversity and the values of tolerance, acceptance, non-discrimination and non-violence.
The game consists of three posts situated in three different places in the schools with some difference and no direct visual communication. Each post has a theme related to one of the following topics: acceptance of difference and non-discrimination, social economic rights, and renouncing of violence. Students are divided into three groups equal in numbers. Each group is assigned a color through colored ribbon around the hand of each student.
Groups have to answer questions and solve riddles the quickest possible in a cooperative way by moving sequentially from one post to the other. Questions and riddles are obviously related to topics mentioned above.
…For Development interviewed some of the students after the end of the game, here is what some of them said:
April – June 2015