News

3 February 2022

The first phase of the workshop focused on equipping the youth leaders to be future agents of change by teaching them how to facilitate various methodologies for supporting dialogue and social cohesion within communities, such as UNESCO’s Story Circles approach and a novel scenario-based peace education technique. 

Discussion on the concepts of conflict and challenges to social cohesion followed, helping the community leaders to explore the nuanced risk factors, root causes, and vulnerabilities which can drive conflict, and what is needed to strengthen social cohesion and dialogue as effective preventative strategies. 

Given the increase in global levels of social tension and divisive communication in current times, driven significantly by challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong need within the region to build the capacities of youth leaders to champion social cohesion and promote intercultural dialogue as tools for socio-emotional resilience which can help sustain cohesion and peace. 

Following the Training of Trainers session, the youth leaders will be supported to utilize the approaches within their own communities and contexts. Benefitting from access to a platform for good practice sharing and a series of peer-support sessions, UNESCO will help the 50 youth leaders to engage over 1,000 community beneficiaries across the Maldives, strengthening socio-emotional resilience for cohesion and peace throughout the country.

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/strengthening-social-cohesion-through-socio-emotional-learning-maldives