Iraq: Educating the Citizen - Promoting peace in Iraq

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

As in the case of every country with a turbulent past, education is an essential pillar to restore peace, support inclusive development and achieve long term stability in Iraq.

Within the framework of the project "Promoting Civic Values and Life-Skills among Adolescents through Education" (CVLS), the Ministries of Education (MoEs) in Baghdad and Erbil, with the support of UNESCO, are working to strengthen civic practices and life-skills in the educational system to support youth and promote a more participatory and constructive society.

Following the development of a Teacher Training Package, UNESCO Iraq Office and the Ministries of Education are holding a series of training workshops from 16 to 27 September 2012 to launch this advanced training programme for education staff of MoEs in the four pilot governorates of Baghdad, Erbil, Thi-Qar and Salaheddin. 47 education supervisors will be introduced to the core modules of the Teacher Training Package: Citizenship, Political Participation, Work & Employment and Peace building, using participatory and activity-based teacher training methods.

These education supervisors will then train 400 teachers across the four governorates, which will lead to the direct application of the modules with students. Additionally, thanks to active local NGO partners, these materials will be also introduced in non-formal education settings through subsequent training of 60 Community Learning Centre Facilitators.

Emphasizing the significance of this project, Dr. Mohamed Temim Iraqi Minister of Education stated that "Given the current situation in Iraq, this　project is a challenging endeavor building the foundation for educating future generations on civic values and skills and teaching them to live together in peace. It contributes to the transition from conflict and violence towards civil peace, security, and acceptance".

Minister of Education in the Kurdistan Regional Government confirmed that "this project is in line with the Ministry's strategy and educational policy, and responds to the current situation in the region coming in at a critical time, when people need to learn to live together and to forgive". He added that thanks to this initiative "new generations will learn the meaning of human and civic values, acceptance, and the culture of sustainable peace, and will be provided with the skills necessary to protect and promote human rights' principles".

Additionally, UNESCO Iraq Office Director Mohamed Djelid pointed out that "through exploring the concepts of active citizenship and political participation, civic education constitutes a major tool to achieve sustainable peace in Iraq".

Funded through the Iraqi Trust Fund, the CVLS project was launched in 2010 by UNESCO, UNFPA and ESCWA in partnership with the Government of Iraq through line ministries in Baghdad and Erbil. The project seeks to build the capacities of the line ministries to deliver civic and life-skills education to young people aged between 12 and 19 years old in the four Governorates of Baghdad, Erbil, Salaheddin and Thi-Qar.