Program Area: Civil Society;
Funding Source: Eurasia Partnership Foundation, SIDA.
Project's Short Description: To help and adolescents overcome psychological pressure as a result of the recent Russia-Georgia conflict and promote an educational philosophy and practice that inspires and developes positive values in the secondary school of hte conflict affected areas. Values against Violence (VAV) is based on the Livng Values Education module that has been implemented in more than 80 countries of the world and is designed to promote the development of values-based learning in conflict affected communities, overall development of the individual and a culture of positive values, such as peace, tolerance, respect, responsibility and unity.
The project will encourage educators to look at the education as a opportunity to provide students with a philosophy of living, thereby facilitating overall growth of children and youth. The project also targets teachers from secondary school in GOri to improve the quality o flearning and turn the education process into a purposeful activity to facilitate children adolescents overal growth, development, and choices so that they may integrate themselves into the community with respect, confidence and purpose. The grantee will train a select group of teachers on the concept of VAV and then support participants in developing educational plans that incorporate the acquired theoretical material into their teaching methodology. In addition, the grantee will train the teachers in colorful silhouette theatre technique, one of the effective teaching methods of positive living values. The learning of VAV will be enhanced by community - wide events, such as an exhibition on values-based drawing by children and adolescents and theatre perfomances on VAV. The project team will develop and distribute posters that describe the core principles of basic positive values in a user-friendly way.
Target Group: The project target groups are children between the ages of 8 and 11 and adolescents between the age 13 and 16 of secondary schools in the war affected areas and IDP communities of Gori, who represent the most volnurable and unprotected groupof the society. Children between the ages of 8-11 naturally develop values-based behaviors in a values-based atmosphere and adolescents between the ages of 13-16 make choices that are particularly critical for their own happiness, well being and future.
