33 PROMOTE JUST, PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES
Peace, justice and the institutions that support and protect the rights of citizens are the foundations of sustainable development. People need to be free of fear from violence and feel safe wherever they go, regardless of their ethnicity, faith or sexual orientation. Crime and violence threaten peaceful societies, and even in the world’s greatest democracies, corruption, crime and human rights violations still occur. This goal is all about ensuring our communities, governments and institutions protect and promote inclusion and respect toward people of all backgrounds.
Learning Objectives
- Learners will understand concepts of justice, inclusion and peace and their relation to law, both in their country and internationally.
- Learners will understand the importance of individuals and groups upholding justice, inclusion and peace in their country and internationally.
- Learners will be able to connect with others to facilitate peace, justice, and stronger institutions in their country.
- Learners will be able to reflect on their role in issues of peace, and show solidarity for those suffering from injustice in their own country and abroad.
- Learners will be able to critically assess issues of peace, justice, inclusion and strong institutions in their region, nationally, and globally.
Essential Questions
Media (Identification of Value/Biases):
Why is it important to be critical of media in relation to reporting conflict?
Environment
How do peace and justice impact our environment?
Poverty, wealth and power
How does extreme wealth and corruption contribute to the poverty cycle?
Indigenous Peoples
What is unique about Indigenous justice systems and what can we learn from them?
Oppression and genocide
How do genocides begin and what can be done at different levels to intervene?
Health and biotechnology
How does peace impact our health?
Gender politics
How are justice systems impacting gender inequalities?
Social justice and human rights
What is the process of reporting a human rights abuse? How are they dealt with?
Peace and conflict
How has the idea of world Peace changed over time? How are genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity prosecuted?
Overview of The Goal
Everyone deserves to live in a world that is peaceful and safe, where human rights are protected by law and where we can count on our governments to function.
THAT THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DEFINE PEACE.
Some define it as just the absence of war and violence. But others define it as a feeling of safety and stability, knowledge that our voices matter, and trust in our fellow humans. Sometimes our definitions are impacted by our own cultural identities and past experiences.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE PEACE?
How can you and your students make the world a more peaceful place?
Peace by 2030 is a big goal. What can young people actually do to help?
There are two approaches to defining peace: positive peace and negative peace.
Both definitions are important. But positive peace allows us to define our own vision of peace, which might be different than someone else’s. It also gets at why peace is important in the first place and presents some concrete ways that we might actually achieve it by 2030.
Discussion: DEFINE YOUR OWN VISION OF PEACE.
What would peace actually look like? What are the most important factors in defining peace for you and your students? Below is a list of possible criteria, but you and your students might have different priorities.
Everyone has a voice in making decisions.
Leadership is accountable to the people they represent.
Everyone has an opportunity to succeed, regardless of race, gender, ability, age, sexual orientation, etc.
Everyone is treated fairly. Rules are applied equally to everyone.
Everyone feels safe and cared for.
Everyone has their basic needs met (food, shelter, clean water, health care, a clean environment).
Learning Activities
Websites for Research: IS OUR WORLD BECOMING MORE OR LESS PEACEFUL?
There is a difference of opinion here, depending on how you look at the data. Check out the resources below and decide how you would answer that question.
Global Peace Index 2016 (video).
Global Peace Index (Vision of Humanity’s interactive map showing the most and least peaceful parts of the world, broken down by factors of peace).
The Visual History of Decreasing War and Violence.
Conflict and Violence in the 21st Century.
Positive Peace Report 2017 (great for math teachers—tons of graphs and data sets!).
Top-down and bottom-up narratives of peace and conflict (only if you really want to geek out).
Websites for Research: HOW DID SOME OF THE WORLD’S CURRENT CONFLICTS START?
If you pay attention to the news for more than five minutes, you will definitely hear about conflict or warfare somewhere in the world. If we’re going to solve these conflicts, it’s important to understand why they started and how they evolved.
Syria: what students need to know.
Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash Course in World History with John Green (yes, THAT John Green).
Guide: What’s happening in Iraq?
Teaching about the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
Websites for Research: HOW ARE LOCAL PEACE AND GLOBAL PEACE CONNECTED?
Even though interpersonal conflict (such as domestic violence, gang activity, assault, shootings) is different than international warfare, they are connected. How can more peace in our homes and communities lead to more peace across borders, and vice versa?
Heart-Mind Well-Being: Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education.
Things you can do to help: Beyond Intractability.
Educational resources from the Sarasota Peace Center.
Baltimore calls for ceasefire.
Websites for Research: IS PEACE POSSIBLE?
A Realistic Vision for World Peace.
The Seville Statement on Violence.
Websites for Research: PORTRAITS OF PEACE
This ex-police officer is dedicated to changing the system.
Khaled Hosseini Meets Inspiring Young Syrian Refugees.
Being Peace in a World of Trauma.
How to end the cycle of violence in Chicago.
Suitable for Children (Act Three).
Games: WALK A MILE: BUILDING EMPATHY THROUGH GAMES
Peacemaker: Israeli Palestinian Conflict.
Social media
Check out these Twitter accounts of people and organizations who are working closely to make the world a more peaceful place.
International Peace Institute.
Further Research and Activities
Assessment and Reflection
Reflection Journal
Quote: “An apology without changed behavior is just manipulation.” Unknown
Quote: “HATE it has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet.” Maya Angelou
Quote: “You don’t grow when you’re comfortable.” Thinking Humanity
Quote: “We cannot learn without pain” Aristotle
- Describe the learning activities (articles, videos, etc.) and your experience – What did you do/hear/see?
- Interpret and evaluate the events from your perspective – What do I think about it now? How does it relate to other things that I know?
- Explain your experience; reveal your new insights, connections with other learning, your hypotheses, and your conclusions.
- Reflect on how this information will be useful to you – What questions do I have? Have I changed how I think about the situation? Where do I go from here?
- What did you particularly value and why?
- Is there anything you would do in the next unit? What have you learned? What will you do with these lessons?
Renewable Assignment Options
Know your rights, know your risks. Learn about all the ways human rights protect you from violence, exploitation, and discrimination. Share this information with your community and help others understand how they can get help if they need it. Knowing your rights is the best way to ensure you receive fair treatment.
Sign up and speak up. Get informed about corruption and take a stand against greed by signing petitions to end corruption and holding public servants and business owners accountable for their actions.
Raise awareness about human trafficking and initiate action through your local community. Learn what the signs of someone being trafficked are and find out where people can turn to for help.
Support local organizations. Find out what social justice struggles are important to you and your community and find ways to support organizations doing this kind of work. Give your time, talent and resources to help make a difference for people who have faced exploitation, violence, and discrimination.
Support anti-bullying efforts in your school and promote peace. Or, consider hosting a conflict resolution workshop and help others learn new skills.
Consider joining an advocacy campaign, such as the Development and Peace advocacy page or Mennonite Central Committee advocacy campaign page. You can decide what issues are most important to you and build your own campaign for peace.
Start a Peace Club in your school. You could also attend a peace gathering in your community to show your support for peace.
A crucial pillar of peace and SDG 16 is fair and equal treatment under the law. Bring this concept to the hyper-local level by challenging your students to completely redesign how your school handles discipline. Start a peer mediation program, replace detention and suspension with yoga or meditation, build a peace garden, host healthy relationship workshops or have your students come up with their own ideas.
School replaces detention with meditation.
Cabramatta High School Peace Garden.
Teaching Students to be Peer Mediators.
Creating Classroom Rules with a Student Bill of Rights.
A very tangible way to work toward peace is to promote kindness in ourselves and others. Why not put out a call to action across your school, community or the world to treat everyone with kindness and care? Launch your own kindness campaign or join one that already exists! Join Participate’s kindness challenge this month—new, simple ways to show kindness shared every day in December!
Global Kind Project (From January 15 – February 14, 2018).
Another crucial peace pillar is leadership’s accountability and willingness to represent constituents. Have your students put this to the test! Contact your elected officials to let them know your ideas for how to make your community, country or world safer and more peaceful. Ask: what kind of policies could put an end to mass shootings? Should we be involved in armed conflicts abroad? Should groups like the KKK be protected under the 1st Amendment? Should your area accept refugees? Why or why not?
Tips on writing to your elected officials.
There may be families in your community who escaped violence in another part of the world to find safety and stability. Imagine what that’s like—how can you and your students help these new neighbors feel welcome in your community? How can you help create conditions for them to thrive in their new homes? Create welcome baskets for newly arrived families, invent something new to help refugees on their journeys, invest in a refugee-run business or something else that your students come up with!
Three things you can do to help Syrian children right now.
The Rescue Travois (invented by a teenager to help refugee families).
10 refugees who will change your perception of entrepreneurship.
Art and media can be powerful tools in healing, reconciliation, violence prevention and forming meaningful relationships. Challenge your students to create something together that sends a message of peace: a sculpture, mural, video, app, performance, dance, block party, memorial, etc.
Mothers Against Senseless Killing.
International Day of Peace: art project ideas.
The arts help us find comfort, peace, and unity.
What kids can learn from Ferguson’s murals of hope.
These Georgia teens created an app to rate police.
