Peace education is extremely fashionable but as yet few people have endeavoured to explore the outcome and impact of peace education programmes. There is often a gap between good intentions and reality. In an effort to find some answers to this problem, the author examines the effects of an informal workshop-style peace education programme in Uganda, the so-called 'Alternatives to Violence Project' trainings. She sets the scene by pointing out that Uganda with a population of 24 million has fifty-three officially recognized ethnic groups, who speak languages from various African language groups plus Swahili, and where 66 percent of the population is Christian, 16 percent are Muslim, and 18 percent follow indigenous belief systems. Some roots of conflict can be traced to the effects of colonialism, others are definitely pre-colonial. She also sets out her theoretical framework, her research methodology, analysis of research data and gives her conclusions and recommendations. Her informants did indeed find that the peace education had a significant impact on their personal perceptions. There was a rise in awareness against the use of violence. By providing a secure space for interaction between members of different regions and ethnic groups, it has helped to overcome ethnic-based prejudices. People also perceived a strong impact on their personal empowerment processes. There are still two current conflicts in Uganda: the twenty-year-long war between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government in the north (Acholiland) and the tensions between the Teso and the Karamojong in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. The author carried out fieldwork between February and April 2006 in the capital, Kampala, and in Gulu in the north, Soroti in the northeast (Karamoja region) and Fort Portal in the southwest. [ASC Leiden abstract]
Free online: http://hdl.handle.net/1887/13069

Year of publication: 2008
Series: African Studies Collection
Volume: 11
Information:
ISBN
978-90-5448-080-8
Auteur
Anika May
Kaft
Paperback
Uitgeverij
African Studies Centre
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