Concepts and tools for building a culture of peace

The framework of the Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is aimed at establishing “stable and lasting” peace. The challenges and issues to implementing this process are great, however; especially in regard to the daily implementation of it by citizens. This course seeks to provide students with the educational tools for developing the skills that can be used to build a culture of peace in specific contexts (local, regional, professional, etc.). It will offer these tools under the guiding lens of the ideas and discussions surrounding the following topics: armed conflict, transitional justice, historical memory, and regional peace, among other issues.

Develop the skills of participants so they may contribute to building a culture of peace.

• Based on your own personal or professional experience, propose a topic or question to investigate as a research project.
• Contextualize the selected topic or question by using the concepts and tools provided for analyzing the armed conflict, civic responsibility and transitional justice.
• Identify and analyze the roles, interactions and conditions that enable or interfere with the ability to develop the skills for building a culture of peace and civic coexistence.
• Deliver a proposal that includes strategies for building a culture of peace in a specific context.

Undergraduate and master’s students from Universidad del Rosario and other universities, government agency officials, the NGO community and the general public (with undergraduate experience).

This course will take two central approaches: a theoretical approach will be implemented via master classes to provide students with the conceptual tools for addressing the topics of armed conflict, civic responsibility, transitional justice and a culture of peace; and a practical approach will be used for students to develop a research proposal that devises strategies for building a culture of peace in a specific context. Course coordinators will provide students with virtual advising for this research project, which is to take place throughout the duration of the sessions.