‘Peace Education’, Megjashi’s successfully implemented priority

1. ‘Peace Education’, Megjashi’s successfully implemented priority
Peace is the peak social human value which enables people to live a high-quality life without fears,
agonies, uncertainties, risks and to achieve long age. Although men have realized this long time ago,
unfortunately, they hinder the creation of a peaceful atmosphere themselves through various wars,
conflicts, collisions, misunderstandings, from minor to large-scale formats. The necessity of peace
education in our society is vital, and that is something The First Children’s Embassy MEGJASHI has
started 11 years ago via the Peace Education Program, organizing trainings, workshops, webinars, peace
building activities in and outside schools, which has proven to be quite fruitful.
Within its mission The First Children’s Embassy in the world ‘Megjashi’ is slowly, but surely, step by step,
implementing its program along with teachers, institutions etc., aiming at influencing young generations
through the education process and to make peace become their axiom. Hence, several days ago the
Second Peace Meeting was held (27-29 June 2022), where 60 teachers from high schools in Debar,
Vinica, Gostivar, Makedonski Brod, Veles and Skopje took part, as well as representatives from the
Ministry of Education and Science.
During this meeting, teacher Dјevit Miftarovski from the high school in Debar, has emphasized their
significance.

2. ‘I had found out about MEGJASHI as a child, and when I started working, I had the privilege to become
part of them in this manner. At the beginning, in 2012, I didn’t know what will happen, but their
interesting approach was appealing to me because this is a whole new direction. The first meeting was
in Kichevo, but the topics covered were attractive, which made me feel confident to become part of it. I
now understand the term ‘Peace Education’ much differently than I used to back then. Even today when
I mention the term ‘peace education’ to my wife, who is also a high school teacher, she thinks it is
something related to war. But Peace Education is way more than that. If we consider all the different
topics we have covered and analyzed here, and we have later successfully transferred them to students,
we can say that adults need them more than children do, especially in our country. Peace Education
would be a long definition. Personally, I understand it as conflict prevention of the problems we have
and the conflicts we would not want to happen in future.’
The teacher adds that if Peace Education had existed back in 2001, our country would have done much
better, especially in terms of conflicts among students.
‘I work in a high school where Macedonian, Albanian, Roma and Turkish students learn in Albanian and
Macedonian language. Since I teach Macedonian Language and Literature, when I have book analysis
classes I try to raise this question. Let’s think of the Macedonian literature between the two world wars,
existential and social issues – I mention those social problems so that children would start discussing
them among themselves, to look for alternative solutions to the character’s actions, wondering why the
character would not allow his daughter to marry a poor guy, etc. I implement techniques which
smoothen the students, trying to walk in other people’s shoes so that they could think and understand
the other person…
Teacher Irena Fejsko from the same school views students as pieces from a mosaic which need to be put
together correctly for everything to work out fine, and that depends on us.
****
This Peace Meeting, which is, in fact, a continuance of the topics the Peace Education Program covers
continuously, raised many questions which are important to our society. Among the broad spectrum of
topics, the emphasis this time was put on: ‘Peace Education And Gender Justice’, ‘Peace Future’,
‘Antigypsyism as a barrier for inclusion of Roma children in education’, ‘Selfcare’, ‘Forum Theater’, and
creativity and initiatives were also reflected in the discussions with representatives of the Ministry of
Education and Science and the Deputy Minister od Education and Science, Lulzim Aliu.
During his one-day visit, the Deputy Minister had numerous group and individual meetings with the
teachers, and emphasized that upbringing and education are important preconditions for building
healthy personalities which find the solution to problems peacefully, accentuating their role exactly,
along with families, on the students maturation path and raising them into people who should solve
every conflict in future with verbal, not physical communication, adding that there is a solution to every
problem, if we are only looking for it.
‘Prevention is required, taking action at the very beginning before we start facing unpleasant scenes in
schools’, he said in his speech.

3. ****
Happy is he who can build a piece of himself in peace. Every such opportunity is to be respected and
used the best we can for ourselves and others. Although it is seemingly an easy thing to do, this can be
very deceptive – the opportunities peace has to offer, on one hand, are quite big, while on the other
hand the obligation to preserve and upgrade it even bigger.
The Peace Meeting work groups in which teachers discussed and exchanged personal experiences were
very useful in that direction. Enver Ajdini, teacher at ‘Arseni Jovkov’ high school in Skopje, believes
Peace Education helps contribute to the entire education process in the Republic of Macedonia,
especially in terms of alleviating political tensions among students, which they gain through their
families or media.
‘We take care of students, via Peace Education we fight every form of violence and that is the main
motivation for me to be part of Peace Education, and I shall continue to be. We are a team of six
teachers in our school and a team of twelve students who are always with us on our workshops’, he
briefly introduced us to their Peace story.
Teacher Valentina Shterjovska from Gostivar says that she has personally gained a lot as a person with
‘Megjashi’ and Peace Education.
‘Their aim is to include motivated teachers in the program. At first, we have started as a young group of
enthusiasts, we have had a broad vision in front of us of what we wanted to achieve, but truth to be
told, I did not quite believe that we were going to achieve what we have today, I did not believe this
movement would become so large. The first trainings were with fewer teachers, in more isolated
surroundings, and we would literally put ourselves behind closed doors and work, work, dream, dream
of what and how things would happen, and that is the beginning of one story which is today literally a
part of me, my heart, my character.’ Valentina considers this to be the highest value in the educational
system, a missing component in the upbringing process of children. However, the teacher should be
directed towards it, to be trained, which is mostly contributed by these professional, specialized and
rare trainings MEGJASHI puts together.
From the viewpoint of a teacher with peace education experience, she insists on more courses of action.
‘One of the action courses we practice is the marking of some dates which are significant to us, such as
the International Day of Peace, the International Day of Social Justice, Anti-Bullying Day, which we mark
in different ways, by marching, performances such as dance or theater or forum theater with students.
Those ways of acting are very powerful because we perform them in front of a broad massive audience,
in front of municipal buildings, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. Once, using a
performance, we requested for the Mayor of Gostivar, Arben Taravari, to place air pollution measuring
instruments, which he did afterwards and heard our voices. We have many issues rising in schools, too,
we solve them in a quiet, painless fashion, we act through workshops to raise the awareness’, the
teacher explains.

4. When we speak of peace, it is primarily the kind of peace everyone can achieve, to feel good at school,
to have the feeling that the school cares of them and, most importantly, to recognize the problem, to
say it out loud and solve it, those are the main benefits.
****
At this Peace Meeting in Berovo the teachers have presented the problem with mobbing, partisanship
and party privileges, social exclusion, abuse of office and the violence in schools through a Forum
theater performance, called ‘EDUCATION IS FORCE(D), EDUCATION IS POWER(LESS)’. They have
performed on stage in front of all participants of the Peace Meeting, as well as in front of the Mayor of
the Municipality of Berovo, and other representatives from institutions from Berovo and Pehchevo. The
audience expressed a huge interest of the teachers’ forum theater performance, inspiring the Mayor to
request a second performance of it at the beginning of the next school year in front of all teachers in the
Municipality of Berovo.
These performances, especially the Forum theater, also known as ‘theater of the oppressed’, is an
excellent creative form of a participative theater, aimed at raising awareness and creating an
atmosphere of unity, which enables discussion and interaction with the audience, as well as active
participation by creating various solutions. The stage becomes a mirror in which everyone can see their
reflection and social role.
In her experience, Marija Manasieva, an English Language teacher from ‘Vanco Prke’ high school in
Vinica, also views these performances as a tool which contributes to unity.
‘As someone who has returned home after living abroad for a few years in Germany and the Czech
Republic, while also travelling a lot, the peace I have seen, as well as the conflicts, have pushed me to
take part in this program when I first learned about it. Both peace and conflicts in the surrounding were
a motivation to be part of the action taken. Peace Education basis are being constantly transferred to
the younger, every minute of the class, every second, all the trainings we have been through are being
reflected. In both instinctive and intentional situations our knowledge is being integrated in the classes,
activities and performances we organize. The children are always surprised by some of the activities we
introduce in the education process, I always see a desire for awareness raising related to peace
education in the eyes of every single student…
***
Many positive things were told at this Meeting in the peaceful atmosphere of Aurora Resort, surrounded
by the harmony of nature and animals which seem to remind us that men are also part of that harmony
and perfection which we need to preserve and nurture further even more.
This 3-day meeting, which is first of its kind with physical presence of a bigger number of teachers after
the pandemic, during which time the trainings were being held via webinars, has ended successfully,
with mutual conclusions, agreements on further actions, organization and initiation of activities and

5. events, with coordination between government representatives and representatives of relevant
institutions for including Peace Education in the framework of the official education, and at the end
MEGJASHI has granted certificates to the participants.
Valentina Gjorgievska
freelance journalist
Founder of INFE Mаcedonia,
Editor in chief of www.infedream.wordpress.com