Peace Fellows

The project proudly hosted 33 Peace Fellows, a diverse group of youth workers and leaders dedicated to human rights and peacebuilding. These fellows included staff and professionals involved in partner organizations, in education and training, all eager to improve their skills in activism and peace education. The group also featured trainers and educators in non-formal education, as well as young people committed to making positive changes in their communities.

 

In the following lines, read some of the testimonies of Peace Fellows

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Our Peace Fellows' Stories

Serena Grazini

“Attending the Peace Fellowship program was like finding again the motivation for believing in a possible change for my countries (Turkey and Italy). This long term programme permits, especially to educators,  to reconsider their method of learning and teaching and the extreme need to integrate in normal school curricula the theme of peace. I have learned from professionalists useful technical tools to analyse, manage and solve conflicts; the importance of NVC and how to implement all of these in my local community. It was a journey through knowledge and practical tips. Being part of a community helps us to valorize our potential and Youth Peace Ambassadors does exactly this.”

One of the Peace Fellows

“Peace Fellowship was pretty challenging for me due to mental health issues. I didn’t manage to complete the online part, because it turned out to be too difficult and challenging considering my state at the time. I was lacking motivation, which I got in the group, even if I’m not feeling my best. That’s why I would recommend training this long to somebody who is rather self-disciplined and patient. This showed me that even when being an introvert it’s sometimes easier to work with other people. Their support is really helpful. This training (actually, only a part of it) let me learn more about myself – it’s hard to spread peace when you miss it yourself. Inner peace is fundamental for further action. Nonetheless, I learned a lot about mapping conflicts and reminded myself about a few important aspects of non violent communication.”

Johannes Aumann

“Through my engagement with YPAN in a long-term way, I feel supported in my educational activities and as a part of a network that consists of allies, friends and motivators for the common purpose. This value can be noticed as mutual support in all levels: emotional, knowledge-based, legal and others! 

My 3 learnings of the Peace Fellowship programme are:

-Social work and peace education go well together and the combination should be promoted as part of our educational systems; 

-Mediation and conflicts are not only negative;

-Imperfection is key: starting advocacy work locally/on a small scale before knowing it all is better than keeping all the theory to ourselves. I would recommend the Peace fellowship programme to everyone in a youth or social field, but more important people outside of it who are important multipliers, like management level or public sector employees who never heard of non-violent principles or never experienced NFE in the sense of emotional learning. 

 

The most impactful element of Peace Fellowship for me was the last part of the first Berlin training, where we drafted our ideas for real projects and committed to other pax to follow up on those ideas. The long-term character really allowed more commitment structurally, as there were organic deadlines and we would see each other again. My dream after the end of Peace Fellowship is a network meeting with everyone who stayed engaged would be cool, also to maybe think of a follow-up structure for participants to stay in touch, maybe inform of a work camp (i.e. a short training where even people that work can go for 2-3 days) to make the findings from online-learning hybrid.”

Viktoria Stoma

“This programme was an incredible experience for me, which opened a new dimension of human rights advocacy. It not only helped me learn the necessary skills, but also changed my attitude towards this field of activities. The programme revealed new values to me, which allow me to confirm my principles in relation to the advocacy of human rights and give me the determination to express them in society. I gained the following knowledge through the programme: general knowledge about human rights and peacebuilding, supported by the mechanisms and tools that allow you to effectively share this knowledge and form an understanding of the principles of human rights and peacebuilding in your own environment; the need to use the principle of “do no harm” in all actions regarding oneself and others; the ability to conduct advocacy companies at the local level, aimed at solving the needs and violations of human rights in the community. I recommend this programme to everyone who works with young people, because it allows not only to master the tools, but also to transfer the acquired knowledge and form an understanding of the principles of human rights and peacemaking among young people. Each part of the programme is interconnected and necessary for a full understanding of the course. However, the second “Peace Advocacy” training in Poland was the most impressive for me. In fact, after the first training and e-learning, I received a huge amount of theoretical knowledge on human rights and peacebuilding, and in the second training, we worked out the tools and mechanisms that we can apply at the local level to advocate for the rights and needs of people in our communities and prepare for local activism.”

Alexandra Osorio

 

“In the Peace Fellowship I learned ways to bring my ideas and beliefs to materialise in actions. I learned ways to speak up in inclusive and sensitive ways and direct it to the correct parties. Naming 3 learnings of the programme I would say: expanded knowledge in human rights, know-how of how to plan actions and advocate and tools, networking and ideas of other initiatives already in place that can inspire future actions. I would recommend the Peace fellowship programme to every person who wants to improve their knowledge in advocacy and take action in their local communities but doesn’t know where to start. For me the most impactful element was e-learning and residential training. Through e-learning we could grab all the theory and base needed for the training where we could share and discuss the info learned on our own. After the end of the Peace Fellowship, I want to find a network of youth working in Lisbon and integrate myself to start executing more local actions.”

Mar Colomina Hernandez

“After the Peace Fellowship course I feel very motivated to keep doing local actions. I am now more aware that there are many different ways to help people and that you can find partners and resources to help fund it. In fact, I am preparing a local action myself within my esc long program.”

Neven Boittiaux

“The added values that Peace fellowship brought to me are the knowledge that other young people want to change the world and that the long term process permits a better use of the tools we learned. My 3 learnings of the programme are: decision makers are accessible, the political situation in other European countries and that it’s easier to act with a group than alone. Plus Żubr. I would recommend the Peace fellowship programme to any young people who are eager to learn and act for human rights. The most impactful part of the Peace Fellowship was for me the second local residential training because of the place we were, the history behind it and the people involved in this history.”

Kathrin David

“The Peace Fellowship was the perfect package to start a journey in peace education. I will be well equipped with knowledge and, best of all, part of a network that will support me in my future projects. For me, the biggest benefit was the combination of well designed trainings and the support in organising local actions linked to what we learned. Even the online modules were adapted to our learning needs, which was perfect. My dream is that after the Fellowship I will still have the space to stay connected and the capacity to organise facilitated knowledge transfer and joint initiatives.”

Edmond Syla

“Three of the many things I learned from the Peace Fellowship are effective communication strategies in conflict resolution, the significance of grassroots actions in promoting peace, and the power of collaborative leadership in fostering sustainable change. I would recommend the Peace Fellowship program to any individual passionate about peacebuilding, aspiring leaders in conflict resolution, and those committed to making a positive impact in their communities and beyond. The most impactful element of the Peace Fellowship for me was and is the e-learning since we can go back and remind ourselves and also constantly learn from the platform with the update that this undoubtedly facilitates the work in the educational process in this field, such as the implementation of local actions when we had the chance to put those practices into work. After the Peace Fellowship, my dream is that this project will continue and be implemented as a community-driven initiative focused on dialogue and reconciliation, addressing root causes of conflicts, and creating sustainable positive peace in my local context and globally.”

Andrea Todic

“Even before the Peace Fellowship, my values resonated with those of YPAN and their initiatives. I kept the same values, but some were strengthened through participation in the Peace Fellowship, such as respect for the peace community, love for diversity, belief in change, and many others. Learning is the best part of this program, and my knowledge expanded in the fields of peacebuilding, non-violent communication, and human rights. However, the most important lessons for me are the ability to agree to disagree and the understanding that we can belong to many different communities without “betraying” any of them. I would like everyone to learn that we can transform our way of communicating and bring about positive changes. I would recommend the Peace Fellowship to every person who considers themselves an activist, especially those who have lost hope in the possibility of change. The training in Germany was the most impactful for me, but the most exciting part was the workshop in my town, Mitrovica, Kosovo. My dream is to facilitate more training in Kosovo, bring people from outside, and expand them to cover topics such as dealing with the past and fighting propaganda.”

Paula Alejandra Gonzalez Mateus

“The Peace Fellowship allowed me to reconnect with my more social and political side which is something that I value a lot. However, I consider the following things are the most important ones: 

  1. a) The fellowship provided theoretical and practical knowledge in non-violent communication and peace building. 
  2. b) The fellowship provided access to a strong and extended network of peace builders and peace building projects.
  3. c) The fellowship did not remain in the theoretical reign, but also brought the participants to observe the harsh realities of human rights violations. To be honest, this is the one thing that I will never forget. The things I learnt, heard and felt in Teremiski will be in my heart and mind forever. Three main learning points from the Fellowship were: 1. The relevance of communication. Although I cannot always apply the techniques of NVC, I can always reflect on what and how I am communicating. This will for sure have an impact in the conflicts that might pop up in daily life. 2. Conflict is not always negative. It can also bring positive outcomes. 3. There are real people out there suffering human rights violations, but there are also real humans out there doing all they can to defend human rights, or at least to try to support the people who suffer human rights violations in any way. Small actions can have a powerful impact. I would recommend Peace Fellowship to any person that is interested in peace building and is open to hearing the realities of human rights in the world and the realities of other humans regardless of their perspectives.

 

For me, the residential training was the most impactful. Particularly the one in Teremiski. It was a very special place to visit because it allowed me to live a completely different lifestyle. I never felt more connected with nature and with a community (despite not knowing many people) than during that week in Teremiski. But also being in such a special place that is somehow marked by so much pain and violence was very impactful. Having the opportunity to hear, read and somehow “co” experience all human rights violations that are happening there was extremely eye opening. It made me deeply reflect on the structures and mindsets that dominate our world and how much we humans need to work on promoting peace and understanding. But also, I have to say, I have never felt more inspired than when I heard the testimonies or the people who are trying to provide some kind of relief to those victims of human rights violations. Each of us can play a role, each of us has agency. Our small actions DO matter IF we decide to JUST be HUMAN. Another thing that I loved about the fellowship was developing a local action. I worked on a topic that is very close to my heart and it was amazing to see how people who did not even know each other came together to create a small action for a topic close to our hearts. It felt extremely empowering in dark times.  I have two dreams after Peace Fellowship: One would be to go back to Teremiski with all or some of the members of the fellowship and support those who are working to relieve people in need in the forest. My other dream is to continue being connected to the network (fellowship and YPAN) to be able to continue participating in peace-building activities. I want peace building to become a present and continuing aspect of my life and not just a fellowship that I did once.”