AYEPO organized a peace-building program from 4 – 7 October 2019 in which a group of university students were equipped with a wide range of skills aimed to empower and boost their peace-building knowledge and capacity. In this 3-day training many topics were covered, as in the first day the group learnt about communication skills focused on active listening and tools, specifically:
- Clarifying
- Summarizing
- Reframing
The trainer, Mr. Tom Valenti stated their importance and how developing the communication skills help to solve problems and improve the way we interact with others. The students shared their ideas, asked and answered questions, expanding on their experiences of communicating with others.
The second day covered the topic “Anti-bullying and Positive Environment Education” in which the participants did an activity where they exchanged views on how different genders act against violence reflecting and sharing their personnel accounts. The session also discussed bullying cases and how it can escalate violence. Then the participants learnt how to respond to such occurrences.
In the last day of the training on “Human Rights & Advocacy” Mr. Valenti spoke on the importance of human rights, and what it means to be an advocate in our society. The group engaged in discussion of questions and tools to consider when developing an advocacy program. We also heard from the delegates about a range of ideas on the topics of education, medical intervention, literacy, climate change and multicultural and multi-generational programs. The training concluded with a discussion about the project the participants tasked to do as part of the program.
