Participants from 13 countries met on ZOOM for the first time to begin their journey towards effective peace work. They are supported by excellent trainers, Gośka Tur and Natalie Jivkova, as well as many peace, advocacy, communication and political change experts from the SCI network. The participants come from different age groups and very diverse backgrounds – some of them are students, teachers, volunteers or peace educators but they all joined together for this course, ready to share their unique experiences and grow together as changemakers for more a peaceful future.

The first session was introductory – it established the basis of the next collaborations and online meetings and helped create a group feeling, which fostered motivation and energy amongst the participants. Even though the course is conducted online it still serves as a platform to get to know each other and network with like-minded people across Europe.

The next sessions that followed were practical and provided a lot of inspiration. The participants broadened their understanding of peace on many levels, reflected on their role as peacebuilders and learnt tactics and tips on how to create their own campaigns. They saw practical examples of successful actions and understood how they can use emotions and storytelling to reach their campaign goals. As the biggest part of the learning process is actually putting new knowledge into action, they were also empowered to take part in the campaign for International Day of Peace, on September 21st. This year, to celebrate this day, SCI called for abolishing nuclear weapons and petitioning for the governments of the United Nation member states to sign the UN treaty against nuclear weapons. Under the hashtag #nuclearban our participants shared the activities they created in their home countries, pictures, posters and videos advocating for this cause. It was a very special day across the whole SCI network, when the staff members, volunteers, course participants and peace workers all united for the shared goal.

To share their knowledge as peace ambassadors, participants will organise local actions to spread the idea of “peace in practice”. For the events, organisations can apply for microgrants of around € 200. 

The 13 organisations involved are located in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Kosovo, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium.