Held on the premises of the Vie pour Tous Foundation, which shares our objectives in terms of inclusion and quality in education, the workshop brought together educational consultants, inspectors, directors, social workers, representatives of parents’ associations and religious leaders.
The workshop was a meeting place, and the participants were involved and productive,” says our international project manager.
The workshops focused on validating the issue by collecting testimonies from communities that have experienced violence and extremism. The results show elements already highlighted by UNESCO:
Some forms of violence persist in education.
Students feel potentially excluded and discriminated against.
Students may be susceptible to simplistic, one-dimensional messages that condone or exalt hatred and the use of violence as a means of solving problems.
A lack of trust may arise between the different entities responsible for education: school, religious, parental.
These elements will receive particular attention in the Learning in Peace, Educating without Violence-Innovation project in Benin.
In fact, the information gathered will be used to guide the design of teaching resources that will be used in the project for the training of players (educational advisors, teachers, social workers), for activities to be carried out in the classroom with pupils and within the community.
The evaluation of the workshop showed great satisfaction on the part of the participants. We were also honored by the presence of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Maternal and Primary Education, who represented his minister throughout the workshop.