Sub-regional Workshop in Nanjing: Gathering voices of Chinese Peace Educators in China
APCEIU and Nanjing University UNESCO Chair on Peace Studies co-organized the Sub-regional workshop, as part of the the 2023 Nanjing Peace Forum, from 20 to 21 September 2023 in Nanjing, China. This workshop was held as the final rotating workshop for the cooperative project “Development of a Common Curriculum for Peace Education in Northeast Asia.” The first sub-regional workshop in Seoul in August 2022 and the second in Fukuoka in March 2023 were completed successfully, collecting insights and ideas from local educators in peace. Participated by 40 experts and educators from China, Japan, and South Korea, the workshop gathered critical comments on the draft guide developed so far from peace educators in China and shared peace education cases in Nanjing.
The first part of the workshop began with the remarks from partner representatives. Dr Lim Hyunmok, director of APCEIU, Dr LIU Cheng, professor of Nanjing University, and Mr Robert Parua from the UNESCO Bejing Office, delivered their appreciation to the participants and emphasized the significance of peace education in the region.
It was followed by the case sharing of Chinese peace educators. From kindergarten to high school, enthusiastic teachers from various education levels shared their experiences of practising peace education in the classroom. International experts shared the context of peace education in Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
To solicit feedback from the participants, the Drafting Team (Dr. Sicong Chen, Professor, Kyushu University) introduced the overall structure and key elements of the guide. Based on this overview, participants reviewed the draft and discussed suggestions for improvement. Key comments included ensuring common ground in the Northeast Asia region and differentiation of approaches and pedagogies.
On the following day, Project Partner representatives and EWG had a review meeting. At the meeting, revision and editing strategies and way forward were discussed.
After the workshop, the project will go through the final process of conclusion. The drafting team will finalize the guide reflecting discussions from the final sub-regional workshop. The final version will be published by the end of this year, including lesson plans and program design developed by the educators in this region through the pilot implementation.
*All pictures are courtesy of the Nanjing Peace Forum.
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