War and Peace: Children's Participation in Peacebuilding

Within the framework of the project, which will take place in Kiev and several pilot regions, a number of activities will be carried out to involve children in peacekeeping processes. By means of questionnaires, pilot schools will be identified that will take part in the training of active children-peacemakers, holding joint peacekeeping actions, in particular the Days of Peacekeeping, and implementing their own initiatives. Local communities, Ukrainian society and the international community will see the war in Ukraine through the eyes of children, hear the voice of children in defense of peace in eastern Ukraine. Together with the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and the leaders of local authorities, children's peacekeepers will discuss various aspects of preventing and combating discrimination against children, and develop formats for responding to complaints and appeals on the facts of conflicts and cruel treatment of children in various situations. During mass events, the film "War through the Eyes of Children" and a play created by children within the framework of the project will be shown. Participants of the interactive theater will take part in an international theatrical event in Germany (Oldenburg), where they will show their performance. Also, the project will collect vivid stories of the participation of Ukrainian children in volunteer and peacekeeping actions, which will be included in a separate book and kept in the office of the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child.

Young peacemakers - participants and participants of the project will join the annual World Campaign "Bell of Peace, Memory and Joy" and the UN Art for Peace Contest - an art marathon on the theme "Peace in the World". Photos from the project and the best drawings of children will be sent to New York for posting on the website of this action and at the exhibition of drawings, timed to coincide with September 21 - International Day of Peace. On this day at 2 p.m., when in the gazebo at the UN headquarters in New York, a "bell of peace" will sound, cast from coins collected for him by children from sixty countries of the world, in all pilot schools of the project (as well as in those that will join this movement) school "peace bells" will ring, which will inform about the freedom of children, teachers and parents to establish peace in Ukraine.

Schools that take part in the project and submit reports on their peacekeeping activities will receive an honorary status and diploma "School of Peacemaking" signed by the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child. The most active children-peacemakers will also be marked.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany through the German Embassy in Ukraine.