After the orientation week at the fellowship program, UNESCO and UNESCO MGIEP were invited to facilitate a training workshop on social cohesion with the fellows. This session was facilitated by Maija Lyytinen (Analyst, UNESCO New Delhi Office), Shreya Jani (Consultant, UNESCO MGIEP), and Sanjana Chopra (Young Trainer, UNESCO). The session aimed at fostering an understanding of the concepts of conflict, peace, social cohesion, and resilience, and promote skills of critical thinking, dialogue and negotiation, and encourage youth to contribute to building peace in their communities.
Young people from other PRIA’s youth initiatives and staff working with young people at PRIA were also invited to participate in this training workshop along with fellows from the YnD Chandigarh Cohort. The session started with a quick and fun ice breaker, wherein participants, through emoticon reactions on the Zoom platform, were asked to share about how they were feeling, kind of activities they like, their personal traits and characteristics, etc.
This was followed by a Mentimeter activity where participants shared their reflections on conflicts and challenges to social cohesion.
Following this, the facilitator briefly explained Conflict. Conflict is normal, and they occur at different levels. Conflict escalation, extremism, and hate speech can be prevented, for example, through dialogue and education. If it is handled, effectively it can provide opportunities for learning and growth. Societies in which individuals and groups acknowledge the range of perspectives and can manage their differences productively thrive and prosper.
The YnD Fellowship is based on the principles of Democracy in Everyday Life. Learning to facilitate agreements to be, act, work, and live together, despite differences, is one of the principles promoted aggressively during the Youth-n-Democracy Fellowship.
Participants were then involved in a simulation game, where they were introduced to a situation and were asked to discuss how the conflict described affected them as a group.
After the group had discussed within, themselves they were invited to share at a virtual town hall meeting. This was an experiential learning activity that helped the participants in understanding social cohesion from a very personal lens. Fellows identified different risk factors to social cohesion and root causes, identified and reflected on the vulnerabilities that were associated with different groups, and lastly identified ways in which conflict and unrest could be prevented by preparing demand lists. Through this activity, participants not only identified the problems but also came up with collective solutions.
The facilitators then introduced the idea of promoting peace, and how young people can play an important role in facilitating this as agents of change. It is important to imagine peace at the macro (countries, communities, regions) and micro levels (interpersonal relationships, families, educational institutes, workplaces). Traits and attributes to promote peace in larger contexts need to be seen in our immediate environments. For example: being respectful of different identities, not stereotyping/making assumptions, making spaces representative and inclusive. Fellows then shared their ideas of what can a peaceful and tolerant society look like.
The session was concluded by a brief overview of MGIEP’s role in reorienting learning spaces that promote sustainable lifestyles, a culture of peace and nonviolence, and an appreciation of cultural diversity. The session was very engaging and provided a space for participants to reflect upon issues they often avoid. It is important to promote the values of tolerance, peace, and justice so that the future generations of Indians continue to believe in, support and live democracy every day.