The summer school is hosted by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI) and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), which works to help societies in transition address legacies of massive human rights violations and build civic trust in state institutions as protectors of human rights.
The Summer School will focus on educational media, curricula and curriculum reform, educational activities, and diverse actors such as teachers, NGOs, UN bodies, communities and governments in the context of transitional justice processes and policies. Particular emphasis will be placed on measures supporting a conflict-sensitive approach to coming to terms with past conflict and violence. In creating a bridge between the concepts of transitional justice and education for sustainable peace, the Georg Arnhold Summer School aims to reflect on lessons learned and explore innovative ways to help engage children and youth in justice and peacebuilding efforts through education, fostering their capacity for critical thinking and supporting their social and political empowerment and the social cohesion of the societies they live in.
Drawing on my doctoral research with educators and students in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, I will present a paper on "Transitional Justice and Education: Lessons gleaned from genocide education". The topic not only relates to my fieldwork but to my teaching at the Cambridge University's Faculty of Education, where I lecture to undergraduate students on "Education and Armed Conflict" and "Teaching and Learning about Genocide".
My paper will focus on moral, political, and pedagogical opportunities and risks of engaging children and youth in remembering/understanding past atrocities, preventing future abuses, and promoting reconciliation. It will also look at possible implications of this work for teachers and teacher training. I will draw upon insights gained from research into Holocaust and genocide education in American, British, Israeli and Palestinian schools, and relate these to the findings from my own research in Bosnia and Herzegovina. My data comes from interviews and focus groups with secondary school teachers and students, and forms part of my doctoral research into the role of education in Bosnia’s ongoing post-conflict social reconstruction and peacebuilding processes.
I'm really looking forward to the week-long Summer School which brings together early-career scholars, senior researchers and practitioners in the fields of peace education and transitional justice from around the world. It provides an intimate interdisciplinary and international forum that will allow participants to debate and critically reflect upon key research questions, methods, findings and their implications. The academic program includes interactive lectures and workshops by renowned experts, offering participants the opportunity to widen their research perspectives and improve their methodological competencies.