A group of academics from the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex), the University of the Arts (London), the University of Rwanda, the University of Sarajevo and Los Andes University (Bogota, Colombia) are involved in an AHRC research project looking at Peacebuilding Pedagogies in Higher Education. Among many goals that this Research Network has set in its project, the following are some of the underlying principles that guide the activities of our collaborative efforts:
- to develop peace hubs of academics from our different countries and regions;
- to discuss and reflect on how we might develop a culture of peacebuilding with our students through educational initiatives and collaborative research in peace building pedagogies;
- to work on educating students and teachers on how to work for peace and nonviolence in their classrooms, in their schools and in education in general.
It is within this Network that the idea was born to start the University Peace Education Hub Sarajevo which is seen as a space where different forms of knowledge will be brought together and provide an entry point into the university where community members, community organizations, practitioners and all alternative forms of knowledge, will collaborate for a critical exchange and learning with the members of the academia and university students, in order to explore the possibilities of collaborative projects and work on peace building and promoting the culture of peace.