5

Examples of Tools for Reducing Violence and Promoting Citizenship Engagement and Peace

In addition to policy and program strategies for reducing violence and promoting citizenship engagement and peace among children, youth, and women, the workshop also brought together examples of dialogue, conflict resolution, messaging, and technology to offer tools that have had measurable effectiveness in reducing violence and promoting peace. Abu-Nimer appealed to workshop participants to learn the language of faith used by various religious constituencies as the first step toward engagement. Building and supporting a message of peace, acceptance, and religious pluralism were among the potential gains Abu-Nimer said were possible by appealing to religious leaders. Amalia Waxman, an independent consultant, suggested that messaging and technology are practical and accessible tools that are capable of creating social impact with significant reach across contexts that influence children and youth.

DIALOGUE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION TOOLS

Salah remarked that innovative policy solutions come from dialogue between different actors. Abu-Nimer highlighted several types of actors that are generating solutions locally within communities. He pointed out that economies and resources are not the only factors that contribute to conflict—identity is also important. Abu-Nimber made parallels of regional identity to that of the child, by stating that early childhood is the early formation of a child’s identity. Thus, it is essential to be proactive in supporting early formation of a child’s religious identity that is based

on inclusive rather than exclusive values. Dialogue in general and interreligious dialogue in particular are effective tools in early childhood education.

In the Middle East, Abu-Nimer noted that the dominant ethnic and religious sectarian identities are often used to fuel political and social conflicts. He went on to state that politicians use symbols of this identity to mobilize majority populations. According to Abu-Nimer, the challenge lies in how to immunize the community, child, and the family from being easily manipulated by symbols of their own religious identity. He went on to note that progress on early childhood development and education for pluralism and coexistence amid a region of conflict, remains difficult without understanding how to engage with the religious communities and religious leadership and institutions.

Abed El Fattah El Samman, media trainer and Muslim preacher from Jordan, stated that the main catalyst in both peace and conflict is religion. Because of the persuasive power underlying religious beliefs, El Samman communicated the need to engage religious leaders, speaking from his perspective as a Muslim in Syria working on joint cooperation programs between Muslims and Christians through his work with the UN Development Programme. Religiously, children ages 2 to 5 are critical because at this age children are being raised by their mothers, who instill basic values. El Samman suggested that issues arise when these mothers succumb to financial constraints. Furthermore, children are not typically exposed to financial literacy training. El Samman made the case that there was great value in training children on financial literacy using religion, given the prolific and illustrative parables around stealing money that exist. He suggested that reinforcing financial literacy that is being taught to youth in formal education settings through avenues such as churches, temples, and mosques would instill a nuanced understanding of the value of money in children and serve to mobilize this next generation around a purpose other than violence.

Ilham Nasser, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at George Mason University in the United States and Senior Advisor for American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) sought to continue the thread of hope established by many of the workshop speakers. While she questioned if it were possible to promote intergroup dialogue in a region where basic human needs are struggling to be met, she did emphasize the importance of working with the local context within the region. Doing so, Nasser claimed, necessitates untangling some of the confusion surrounding who are the major players in the intergroup parties and where to place the effort.

She explored the often conflicting investment demands across children’s environments and educators. Nasser reminded the workshop par-

ticipants that early childhood education is neither regulated nor compulsory in many regions; yet despite this reality, the focus especially in such places should be on a holistic and integrated approach to early childhood education. Pointing to an example in Palestine, Nasser spoke of efforts she was involved with to go into schools run by charitable organizations and religious groups to work on training teachers, particularly around issues of child-centered education. Nasser noted that some teachers were skeptical of the notion because of the unclear distinction between rights and privileges. Citing the use of the Internet, Nasser relayed one story where a teacher questioned if access to the Internet was a child’s right or his or her privilege. While Nasser suggested she was challenged by educators in this context, it was important to give them the attention they needed through proper trainings. In contexts where schools are run by religious groups, Nasser advocated for a train-the-trainer model that has been used effectively in the region to bring different parties from different regions together.

Given the often dire circumstances in which children are educated, Nassers examples across Palestine and Iraq presented early childhood programming that laid the foundation for broader intergroup dialogue. Despite the contextual challenges, Nasser articulated the role educators are playing in their capacity to transform individuals. On reflecting upon the lessons learned, she noted that sometimes it is necessary to challenge individuals and their beliefs—whether they be parents or teachers—and invest in forming a trusting professional relationship with individuals where transformation is safe and possible. Nasser concluded by saying that when transformations are structural, the power of education can be a catalyst for groups in regions of the world plagued by cycles of poverty, conflict, and marginalization.

Nayla Tabbara, Director of the Adyan Institute in Lebanon, presented Adyan’s experiences in education for peace and resilience for Syrian children displaced in Lebanon and within Syria. Through training educators on modules implemented with children aged between 7 and 15 and following up with them, Adyan focuses on strengthening resilience of children and educators affected by war, and on preparing the affected population for the postwar period, through education on diversity that aims to rebuild ties between the different cultural and religious Syrian communities that have been severed by war.

Based on six states of cycles of change (see Box 5-1), the model builds resilience by providing psychosocial support, teaching diversity and social cohesion, and instilling values of inclusive citizenship. Noting that systems of values are the first to suffer during times of conflict, Tabbara emphasized that the work of the Adyan Institute is based on a model that allows children to rediscover values and principles of personal and public

life and to find points of strength within themselves, reconnecting with internal sources of security and strength, and helping them overcome the memory of violence. She emphasized the importance of individuals claiming membership to their faith and evoked dialogue as a way of generating acceptance and a common understanding of differences.

By creating safe spaces for interreligious discussion and mutual knowledge, Tabbara emphasized that positively dealing with diversity as a path for peace building must replace dated and inefficient patterns of avoiding religion in an attempt to avoid conflict. Successful examples derived from the work of the Adyan Institute include messages of where paths of individuals have been transformed away from vulnerabilities, hope for the future, and self-healing and self-reconciliation. Tabbara concluded by noting the importance of an individual laying claim to his or her faith. She noted that when the dialogue ceases, the walls go up. To ultimately be more accepting of an individual’s identity, Tabbara made a call to be more at ease talking about religious identity.

Abu-Nimer’s closing remarks echoed Tabbara’s while also synthesizing the messages of all the speakers in his assertion that it is possible to use and engage religious leaders in building and supporting a message of peace, acceptance, and religious pluralism.

MESSAGING AND TECHNOLOGY

Waxman suggested that the exploration of communication and technology tools to reduce violence and empower agents of change has specific applicability to the conditions and context of the Middle East. Four examples of messaging and technology applications were presented at

the workshop—a mobile application, a web-based platform, culturally sensitive video messaging, and virtual reality devices.

Aber provided background information on a mobile application developed by Aleksandra Mojsilovic and Kush Varshney at IBM’s Data Science Group. Aber grounded precedence for the application in the approximately 21 million young people who are currently not attending school in the region, a result of both low standards of educational instruction and poor quality of the learning environment. Referencing his experience working with 350 schools in postconflict areas of Eastern Congo on par with the conditions occurring in the Middle East, Aber noted the primary aim of the initiative is for the application to integrate social and emotional learning principles into the provision of school-based education as a way of improving students’ well-being.

Contextual factors such as isolated schools along poor roads with little supporting infrastructure limit the success of teachers, humanitarian workers, and researchers working in these contexts. Yet as mobile technologies and connectivity to the Internet increase, Aber suggested that through the work of the International Rescue Commission, Global Ties at New York University, and IBM’s Data Science Group, communication technologies and particularly tablet-based applications can overcome some of the contextual barriers to early learning practice and research in difficult settings. These contextual barriers are particularly characteristic of schools across Lebanon, Niger, and Sierra Leone where the beta version of the application will be tested.

Aber described two features of the mobile application, one of which is the My Classroom function that allows real-time data collection and exchange about what occurs in classrooms in remote contexts. The second feature is the teacher learning circle feature of the mobile application, which will be a virtual forum to support teacher professional development (see Figure 5-1).

Moving beyond beta-version applications to a mainstreamed technology platform implemented by youth, Mohanad Mohammad Abdel Raheem Tarawneh, student and president of UNICEF Jordan’s Youth Network, Jeel 962, described the network as a volunteer organization made up of youth. The network took 2 years to establish, based on ad hoc gatherings and trainings facilitated by UNICEF.

Members of Jeel 962 designed an online platform that has interactive, crowd-sourcing, and geolocating capabilities through which youth comment on civic concerns in real time. Comment categories were developed based on indicators used to assess child-friendly cities, which include functionality of infrastructure and public safety for children. Jeel 962 is the first of its kind to create an independent virtual space for youth to convene and have their voices heard while at the same time identifying

problems and finding solutions to improve their communities. “Jeelers” as they call themselves, volunteer a significant portion of their time to the network.

Jeel 962 is hosted on the website: www.jeel962.org (see Figure 5-2). The platform allows an individual to file a complaint related to public safety and welfare, particularly affecting children and youth. The platform guides the individual filing the complaint in writing out the details and uploading a photo as illustrative evidence of the complaint. The individual then files the complaint by one of the predetermined categories indicated by the colored tabs in Figure 5-2 (public safety, sexual harassment, city facilities, child safety, racial discrimination, traffic, Internet usage, animal cruelty). Lastly, the individual filing the complaint is able to drop a pin on a map to indicate where the complaint occurred. A voting process by members of Jeel 962 determine priority of issues. When an issue receives a substantial amount of votes, the network then develops

initiatives to address the complaint. The platform also allows for statistics to be generated around each issue.

Nada Elattar, Director of Educational Programs for International Social Impact at Sesame Workshop in the United States, presented efforts to provide access to quality early childhood educational content to vulnerable populations in areas most in need. Sesame Workshop was launched in 1969 and today reaches 150 countries with 30 original productions globally. Elattar emphasized that the mission of Sesame Workshop is to help kids all over the world grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Elattar elaborated on the process by which programming is designed across television, radio, and digital and print media to capture the interests of children, parents, and caregivers. Programming also includes an evaluation to assess outcomes of achieving the mission.

Elattar presented a film depicting children from different cultures and religions coming together to discuss their common traits, only to find they had more in common than not. The film contains five vignettes of children in different contexts around the world learning lessons of respect and understanding through social and cultural inclusion. Elattar prefaced the film by noting that the film depicts real stories with real friends, and not child actors. Production of the film content was done in collaboration with local advisors and experts in the field to ensure that

issues were addressed in a culturally and socially appropriate manner for the locale.

The film opens with a group of children in Jordan singing a song about how despite differences, children in Jordan all share in their joy for the natural world. The second vignette depicts two German-speaking characters from Sesame Street initially terrified of each other because of size and appearance, only to find that they have similar physical characteristics despite their difference in stature. Returning back to Jordan, the film depicts two separate vignettes: one of a child with disabilities not allowing her wheelchair to stand in the way of engaging in an active lifestyle with her friends; the other vignette is of two boys of different cultural and religious backgrounds exchanging gifts during their respective holiday seasons (see Figure 5-3). The film then shifts back to a gathering of South African Sesame Street characters welcoming their HIV-positive orphaned friend into their play circle while informing viewers of the minimal transmission risk posed by such activities.

These segments of Sesame Workshop programming demonstrate communication techniques to bridge intercultural dialogue in early childhood. She pointed out that Sesame Workshop’s multimedia programming entails messaging to foster cooperation, gender equity, and positive attitudes toward other children from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds in an effort to promote respect and understanding.

Referencing a recurring call among workshop speakers to be deliberate with messaging and integrate communication, Janine Zacharia, lecturer at Stanford University in the United States, presented her work on the science of virtual reality and journalism, with applications for communication in conflict situations at a mass scale. For the researchers, nongovernmental organizations and the digitally savvy youth participating in the workshop, Zacharia provided a landscape of the types of virtual reality viewers available at different prices, including the Google cardboard viewfinders sent out with one particular issue of The New York Times in 2015 to view UNICEF’s Clouds Over Sidra, which was also on display at the workshop. Clouds Over Sidra is the UN’s first film captured in virtual reality. It is designed to support the UN’s efforts to highlight the plight of vulnerable populations, particularly refugees, as viewers experience being immersed in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. The film is intended to be viewed using the Oculus Rift device or via the Vrse app, which operates on a smartphone in conjunction with a simple viewer like the cardboard version designed by Google.

This type of technology is focused around spherical video that enables the viewer to look around and view an entire scene. Oculus Rift is another technology that Zacharia presented, which she added that Facebook recently purchased for $2 billion. Zacharia cited a Knight Foundation report that stated 2016 would be a significant year for virtual reality journalism (Doyle et al., 2016). The technology, coupled with the tenets of journalism, create a scenario for immersive journalism.

In addition to the tools that Zacharia presented, she reminded workshop participants that there are other communication technologies such as texting and online courses that are equally relevant in the context of conflict to communicate certain messages. This type of immersive journalism, Zacharia pointed out, is a new medium that demands a new set of rules. Computer-generated avatars allow the participant to go beyond just having the passive experience of watching a film and actually embody another person or interact with that other person. Zacharia emphasized that the importance of these embodied experiences is the empathy a participant can build toward a certain human condition (race or ethnicity) or situation (homelessness) because the brain treats these virtual experiences as if they are real and transports an individual to places where he or she cannot physically go. Zacharia illustrated this point with an image

of avatars navigating a refugee camp in Syria (see Figure 5-4). Amid the public interest and widespread adoption of virtual reality tools—in large part due to their accessibility and affordability—Zacharia encouraged workshop participants to think about which communication technology works best in which context to enhance storytelling in ways that have enormous potential for encouraging empathy and engaging youth in real-world problems, such as the humanitarian crisis occurring in the Middle East. She argued that sometimes a single image is more powerful in terms of increasing empathy or action. Examples of drones and powerful narratives were also explored by Zacharia. She concluded by stating that virtual reality is a tool to enhance storytelling in ways that will more comprehensively communicate messages from contexts such as the Middle East.