Peace building in Zagreb through role play
Ahtisaari Day has been taking place in Finland since 2010 to promote peace mediation and importance of conflict resolution. It is marked each year at the beginning of November, particularly at schools to increase awareness about conflict prevention and mediation both at the international level and within the school community. It has also become part of the curriculum in many schools in Finland, from the lower grades of comprehensive school to general upper secondary education. One example of an interesting way to learn about mediation is to invite students to play the Kurkum conflict resolution role play produced by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The game, designed for upper secondary schools, encourages students to think about conflicts, crises, peace and mediation.
Although the event receives the most attention in Finland, there was also action outside Finnish borders this year. Here in Croatia, the Embassy of Finland, together with Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)invited local students, aged 17-18, to try this game. To stimulate thoughts about this subject, the students needed to work out a solution to a conflict in the imaginary country of Kurkum. Through respective roles in the game, the students in Zagreb engaged in a lively discussion about the situation in Kurkum that drifted into a very unstable situation. A civil war was on the verge of breaking out. Kurkum was a heterogeneous society where opposing factions threatened the country’s stability, ranging from separatists in the eastern part of country to the government that opposed separation due to rich natural resources in that part of Kurkum. Making the situation worse, there was a lack of trust between the opposing parties and corruption among high level officials. The students stepped into the shoes of the opposing parties. Through persistence, and with the assistance of the mediator, a viable agreement between the opposing parties was reached – new UN-led elections would be held and it was seen as a chance for a fresh start in Kurkum.
The amount of players is adjustable, from 6 up to 30 persons. Here in Zagreb, we had a small group of six students. The students played out their roles very convincingly and at times, the debate was heated. Through this experience, they learned about the complexity of conflicts and the challenges and the reasons why the resolution of conflicts and crises both between and within states entails many types of challenges. They had the opportunity to learn about what a mediator is and how this person works with conflicting parties to build trust, reduce fears and misconceptions, improve lines of communication and cooperation in order to reach the final goal - resolution.
In the game, the students had to address barriers and impediments between the opposing sides that also included cultural and social differences in society, as well as, the effects of the media, propaganda, hidden agendas and personal interests on the crisis situation. They learned about the importance of having a mediation strategy that included an analysis of the situation. Most importantly, they learned about the power of dialogue and compromise.
On this occasion, the Ambassador of Finland, Timo Rajakangas thanked the students for participating in this role-play and was interested to hear their thoughts. One of students’ conclusions was that desire to resolve a conflict is not enough, determination and action is mandatory. The students also thought the game itself was positive and interesting, however, with some development, it could be better. For example, they thought it be beneficial to have more detailed information about the country, including history, cultural and social data. They also expressed that mediation is a skill that can also be applied to other areas of life.
The student’s earned diplomas for their efforts to create peace. Ambassador Rajakangas also enjoyed talking to the students and hearing the views of the “future generation” on many topical themes in Croatia’s society.
Ahtisaari Days are named after Martti Ahtisaari who is the tenth President of Finland (1994-2000), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work. He started his career as a primary school teacher in 1959. Perhaps some of these youngsters will follow his footsteps in peace building as well.