From 2 to 7 December 2024, young educators, activists, youth workers, and multipliers came together in Strasbourg for a training course, “Peace education and conflict transformation with young people”, organised by the Council of Europe Youth Department.

 Over the course of six days, 34 participants explored concepts and various approaches to peace, violence, conflict, peace education and youth work, as well as the contradictions between the culture of peace and the culture of violence and the interplay of youth work, activism, and peace education with young people.

 The training course enabled participants to dig into conflict analysis tools, international standards for peace education and conflict transformation, share and learn from various experiences of and approaches to peace education and conflict transformation, reflect on their individual peacebuilding journeys, and exchange on challenges they face in work with young people, as well as on new, forward-thinking initiatives.

 With insights and knowledge acquired in the training course, participants became more competent to design and facilitate peace education and conflict transformation activities. They also gained confidence to address the situations of conflict they meet when working with young people, whether these be the consequence of social or geo-political conflict.

 The training course is a part of the Council of Europe’s long-standing efforts and ongoing commitment to peace education, peacebuilding, and the conflict transformation agenda, notably through its strategic priority on ‘Living together in peaceful and inclusive societies’ within its Strategy 2030.