Can large-scale violence be prevented in communities at risk through education involving direct engagement of survivors of past atrocities? UK-based Aegis Trust shares lessons learned and progress in seeking to measure impact of peace education work.

At the UCL Institute of Education on Thursday night, Mariana Goetz – Head of Programmes & Learning at the Aegis Trust – will be joined by the UCL’s Dr Kirriliy Pells and the Wittgenstein Centre’s Dr Stephanie Bengtsson for a panel discussion. Aegis Trust will unpack its approach to atrocity prevention through education.

Dr Pells recently conducted an independent qualitative research evaluation of Aegis’ peace-building education work in the Central African Republic, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan, and will be discussing its findings. “While small-scale,” she says, “the evaluation found profound, transformative effects for participants and promising evidence of wider impacts beyond those directly involved.”

Building on lessons from a three-day colloquium in peace education held in Rwanda in February, the Aegis Trust is now developing a tool to assess the impact of its peace education programmes more deeply. Mariana Goetz will outline these programmes and explain the framework for their continued assessment and development.

Aegis’ work in this area is exciting, but remains a drop in the bucket: globally, an estimated 1.5 billion people are living in areas affected by conflict. A Research Scholar at the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography & Global Human Capital, Dr Stephanie Bengtsson will examine this global context, particularly exploring the gap between international commitments for education of displaced peoples and the extent to which these commitments are currently being met. She will argue that a new mind-set is required, especially among high-income governments, to allow for a more effective educational response.

Titled ‘Education, Peace and Refugee Contexts’, the panel discussion will take place 5.00pm to 7.00pm in the Jeffrey Hall at the UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL.

To book a seat at the event, or to find out more about the speakers and their presentations, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/education-peace-and-refugee-contexts-tickets-38520299252