WHAT IS THE CHAIR OF PEACE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The chair of peace is a pedagogical proposal for the cooperation of the educational institutions of the countries for the establishment of a culture of peace. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the culture of peace refers to a set of "values, attitudes and behaviors", which are based on principles of "freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance and solidarity ”.

It is an instructional, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary program that includes a set of topics that aim to sensitize college and university students about the benefits of a peaceful coexistence.

So, it is an effort to incorporate these notions into the classroom through different didactic methodologies that range from master classes and conferences to forums and photographic and / or artistic exhibitions.

It is normally carried out in countries where social and armed conflicts have been experienced as a way to alleviate the harmful effects that these produce for subsequent generations.

Those who defend this chair consider that education for peace is necessary to eradicate violent habits that develop when everyday life is plagued with examples of a culture of violence. Although there is a general proposal, each country adapts it to its own reality.

Origin of the chair of peace

To locate the origin of this chair, we must refer to the UNITWIN project that UNESCO started in 1991, to promote collaboration between institutions of higher education through interdisciplinary chairs.

Since that time, there are many UNESCO Chairs that have been implemented in universities in different parts of the world. One of them is the chair of peace that, for example, has been applied in Puerto Rico since 1996 and in Colombia since 2014.

It is worth saying that education for peace poses the implicit challenge of educating in and for conflict, from a positive perspective that addresses it in all its complexity.

Ultimately, conflict is a natural consequence of coexistence and has individual and collective implications.

Characteristics of the chair of peace

This chair goes hand in hand with the notion of sustainable development of societies.
It requires the active participation of the State authorities.
It is an initiative that involves the different actors of the educational communities.
The areas of work of this Chair include:

Education in and for human rights.
Democratic participation.
Respect for diversity and the environment.
Promotion of sustainable development.

Activities of the chair of peace

The activities of this Chair include as many as educational institutions want and can develop. But in general, they can be:

Master classes.
Conferences.
Forums.
Cinema forums.
Conversations.
Audiovisual, art and photography exhibitions.
Training of teachers and non-teaching staff in the area of education for peace.
Preparation of teaching materials.
Promotion and dissemination of research in the area.

The Chair of Peace in Colombia

Colombia is a South American country with more than 50 years in an armed conflict between the national army and different paramilitary, irregular or insurgent groups.

In 2014, negotiations began between the government and one of these groups: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Beyond the opinions and considerations that this fact may have generated, it revealed the need to prepare the population for a possible post-conflict era. In this context, Decree 1038 of 2015 was born, which regulates the chair of peace.

Some of the topics included in the chair of peace in Colombia are:

Justice and Human Rights.
Sustainable use of natural resources.
Protection of the cultural and natural wealth of the Nation.
Peaceful conflict resolution.
Prevention of bullying.
Diversity plurality.
Political participation.
Historical memory.
Moral dilemmas.
Social impact projects.
History of national and international peace agreements.
Life projects and risk prevention.

However, they are only required to develop two topics from this list and they may be those that the institution deems appropriate.

And this is one of the main criticisms that the implementation of the chair of peace in Colombia has received, in addition to the accusation of ambiguity that falls on the decree that governs it.

In 2016, Editorial Santillana and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá published a Guide for the implementation of the chair of peace, in which they propose ways of introducing, developing and evaluating the issues provided there.

Regarding the way to evaluate the chair of peace, the aforementioned guide proposes a qualitative evaluation, which tries to verify that the student understands and values the role of training for peace and for citizenship in the construction and development of a country.

In summary, it is an initiative that has followers and detractors but is implemented in colleges and universities by legal mandate.

Chair of peace in the world

Peace Chairs have become a creative space for conflict resolution around the world and that is why educational institutions from different latitudes have adopted it. Here are some examples:

In Mérida, Venezuela, the chair of peace and Human Rights has operated since 1987 «Mons. Oscar Arnulfo Romero ”, a community organization for social development, attached to the University of Los Andes.
At the University of Maryland College Park, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development has been in operation since 1997.
The chair of peace, as an artistic project, has been operating in the Santa Bárbara Cultural Development Foundation since 2009.
In the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, the UNESCO Chair of Education for Peace has operated since 1996.

References

Cascón Soriano, Paco (2001). To educate in and for the conflict. Recovered from: unesco.org.
Charria, Arturo (2016). What is the Chair of Peace? Recovered from: elespectador.com
College of behavioral & social sciences. Endowed Peace Chairs. Recovered from: bsos.umd.edu.
Cruz, Juan Daniel (s / f). The Chair of Peace: law or pedagogy? Recovered from: javeriana.edu.co.
Peace Chair Porject (s / f). About the Peace Chair. Recovered from: peacechairproject.org
Salamanca, Manuel & others. Guide for the implementation of the Chair of Peace. Recovered from: javeriana.edu.co.
Sicsal (2007). The Chair of Peace and Human Rights «Mons. Oscar Arnulfo Romero ». Recovered from: sicsal.net.
Academic reflections (s / f). Chair of peace. Recovered from: reflexionesacademicas.uao.edu.co.

WHAT IS THE CHAIR OF PEACE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025