The Netherlands

UNOY regularly holds training sessions in the Netherlands to build the capacities of youth in peacebuilding skills.

'Building Peace Skills' Netherlands Training Seminar, Utrecht/ Amsterdam, Summer 2009

The Building Peace Skills 2009 training took place over a two month period. The first session took place in Amsterdam on the 18th and 19th of June and the second session took place in Utrecht between 2nd and 4th of July. Eighteen participants from various backgrounds took part in the training. The variety of the participants allowed for the group to share a wide range of experiences and skills before the training even started. The training combined both theoretical and practical examples of youth and peacebuilding. Participants were encouraged to formulate their own project proposal which were presented on the final day of the training. The combination of lectures and workshops ensured that all participants came away from the training with more knowledge and new skills.

This event is sponsored by Oxfam Novib, Haellaand the IONA foundation.

'Education for Peace, Human Rights and Justice' Summer School, Utrecht, 4-15 August 2008

The beginning of the new millennium brought two initiatives, which inspired the Summer School Education on Peace, Human Rights, and Justice: first, the declaration by the United Nations General Assembly of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World and, second, the initiative of European Education as Peace Education (EURED), a complementary initiative taken by a network of scholars and teachers for European Peace and Human Rights Education.

The 370 year-old University of Utrecht, beside offering the broadest spectrum of disciplines available in the Netherlands and innovative research as well as liaison with universities and research centres all over the world, has also developed a Summer School Social Program course, a specialized summer course on peace education, human rights and justice as it is formulated by the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). The course program also builds on the paradigm of the EURED project for European Peace and Human Rights Education.

This year, the 3rd edition of the "Summer School", which will take place will take place 4-15 August at the Utrecht University of the Netherlands, will be organised with the partnership of UNOY Peacebuilders. UNOY's engagement in the Netherlands in the Platform Vredescultuur (the Dutch Organisations Platform for Peace) has grown steadily over the years, resulting in an interest to combine expertise and knowledge concerning the culture of peace and peace education in the broadest sense.

UNOY Peacebuilders involvement will consist of workshops focusing on training practical skills that aimed at putting the theoretical concepts of peacebuilding, non violence and education into practice within youth work.

While the overall aim is to build knowledge, motivate and train young people to become non-violent agents of social change by providing them with networking possibilities to strengthen the cooperation among themselves, the specific objective of the Summer School will be to provide a combination of academic knowledge and practical peacebuilding skills for implementation of actions.

"...Peace, Human Rights and Justice are wonderful goods, but scarce for many people in the world. Peace education 'at all levels of society' is seen as the most important instrument to build a sustainable peace..."

If you are interested in this initiative, keep informed on our website and at the website of summer school Utrecht.

This event is sponsored by Plan Netherlands, Oxfam Novib, the Evert Huisman foundation and the IONA foundation.

'Building Peace Skills' Netherlands Training Seminar, The Hague, June 2008

Building Peace Skills 2008 was a very successful training sponsored by Plan Netherlands, Oxfam Novib, the Evert Huisman foundation and the IONA foundation. This year a small dedicated group of individuals attended five sessions Participants learned how to project manage and analysis a conflict. Additionally, participants were given a lecture on team building and a workshop on personal development. The trainers and participants came from diverse backgrounds which lent to itself during the group work and discussions. Participants left feeling the training feeling more confident in their skills and abilities.
This event is sponsored by Plan Netherlands, Oxfam Novib, the Evert Huisman foundation and the IONA foundation.

'Building Peace Skills' Netherlands Training Seminar, Utrecht, April 2007

Building Peace Skills Training 2007, Utrecht

In 2007 UNOY Peacebuilders organised the Dutch 'Building Peace Skills' Training Seminars. This seminar, which took place in Utrecht between the 14th and 25th of April, brought together approximately 25 youth leaders from different cultural and social backgrounds already active in the fields of human rights, peacebuilding, advocacy, campaigning, project management and non-violence. They participated in the training seminar to deepen their knowledge and experience and build new relationships and networks. The training also involved current and former interns of UNOY Peacebuilders, including those involved with the European Network.

This event was sponsored by Plan Netherlands, Oxfam Novib and the IONA foundation.

'Building Peace Skills' Netherlands Training Seminar, The Hague, July 2006

Building Peace Skills Training 2006, The Hague

The Building Peace Skills training 2006 took place at the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague from the 24th to the 28th of July 2006. At this training 20 young people between the ages of 20 and 28 attended sessions to learn about peace theory, negotiation, inter-cultural communication skills, campaigning, advocacy and many other skills, as well as getting a chance to share experiences with other young people across the Netherlands, as well as the UK and Columbia, involved in peacebuilding.

This event was sponsored by NCDO.

Reports of Past Trainings

Building Peace Skills, The Hague, July 2006 (PDF)