Violent extremism, war and the influx of asylum-seekers to Europe have raised issues such as polarization, a lack of understanding of conflicts and of awareness of non-violent approaches to conflicts and all of these are contributing to a cycle of violence.

With these observations in mind, the organisers of #Youth4Peace: Training Euro-Med PeaceTrainers set out to strengthen the capacities of young people to engage in intercultural dialogue, non-violence and conflict transformation, through trainings. 

As an outcome of these trainings, 20 trainers improved their training and facilitation skills, with a specific focus on conflict transformation, peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue and ensuring the quality of the learning process of an educational activity. The 20 trainers who benefitted from the initial training also passed on the information they had acquired to other young peacebuilders in their own communities.

The project included three phases, as follows:

Phase 1 – Online Training (January 16 – 26 February 2017)

The online training consisted of six modules, where the participants began looking at the two tracks which form the core of this project. The first explored theories of peacebuilding, conflict transformation and intercultural dialogue, while the second deals more explicitly with training facilitation skills.

Phase 2 – Onsite Training (February 26 – March 6 2017)

The onsite training built on the work done in the online phase and consisted of an intensive week of workshops and activities in The Hague. This included a practice lab, where the participants can put what they’ve learned into practice, by organising a workshop or training themselves.

Phase 3 – Follow up (March 7 – July 12 2017)

The final phase of the project included the 20 young trainers returning to their home countries or regions, where they organized events, trainings and workshops on peacebuilding and conflict transformation. A final webinar was also organized for the purpose of sharing best practices and experiences.