International Save the Children Alliance
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Turn Spotlight on Need for Education of Children in Conflict
In a rare joint statement, more than thirty winners of the Nobel Peace
Prize today called for urgent action to implement quality education and
build peace in conflict-affected countries.
The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including President Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi*, urged world leaders to pay more attention to the educational needs of more the 37 million children who live in fragile states and are unable to go to school.
In a joint letter to world leaders, initiated by Save the Children, thirty-one Nobel Peace Prize winners say:
"War and conflict are perpetrated by adults. But every adult was once a child and grew up with experiences and guidance that shaped their lives. At the heart of this lies education. But if more than 70 million children do not even have the chance to go to school, and more than half of these children live in countries affected by armed conflict - what are these children learning?"
The letter comes at a time when millions of children continue to be denied an education because of war. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, even before the recent fighting, 5 million of the 9.6 million children of school age are unable to go to school. Without adequate protection from the escalating conflict in recent weeks, even more children have been forced to flee their schools.
Some schools have even been targeted to recruit schoolchildren as child soldiers. An analysis of civil wars of the past fifty years showed that each year of formal schooling attended by boys reduces the risk of their becoming involved in conflict by 20 percent - yet children in trapped in this spiral of conflict, continue to be denied education.
Find out what Nobel Peace Prize Winners have to say
Press Release (November 20, 2008)
Read the opinion article by Mairead Maguire
The Global Debate
On 12 March 2008 Save the Children launched a global debate on the relationship between education and peace - what kind of education can promote peace, and how do we make sure that children receive the quality education that will help them build peace?
Events and discussions have taken place across the globe, engaging children, teachers, parents, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, educationalists and governments to contribute to a greater understanding of the links between education and peace.
See the outcomes of the global debate here
Why education for peace?
Save the Children believes that quality education can build peace and that we, as a global community, have a responsibility for ensuring quality education that builds peace.
We have listened to children, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and beyond, who tell us that education can build peace.