Talking about war in children's and youth work

Agnes Scharnetzky wrote an article for the magazine corax on the question of how the topic of war can be discussed in the context of children's and youth work.

We would like to thank corax for their kind permission to share the article here. First publication: Corax, specialist magazine for child and youth work in Saxony, ISBN 1869-9910, issue 2/2023

Here is her contribution:

HOW DO YOU TELL THE CHILDREN [AND YOUNG PEOPLE]?

Talking about war and peace in youth work.

Agnes Scharnetzky, Research Associate at the John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy

Globally speaking, there has not been a time without war since 1946[1] (see bpb topic module War and Violent Conflicts). The beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was nevertheless an important impetus for many (political) educators to take a fresh look at the topic of war and peace in their encounters with young people and in educational situations. Political educators were also affected by the attack and outbreak of war. At the same time, it is a professional requirement not to remain speechless.[2] There were certainly similar impulses in connection with the Kosovo war, the Iraq war or the Afghanistan war. In these cases, educational contexts are not just about explaining geopolitical, security policy interests or historical backgrounds. It should also be possible to discuss positions and opinions on the aforementioned aspects in educational situations and also negotiateproposals for intervention and solutions as well as, for example, the German position and German contributions. It is quite clear that the attitudes of participants in educational formats are not directly reflected in German or European foreign and security policy. However, it is highly human to seek certainty of action in a situation of powerlessness, including fear. Political images not only play a moderating role. They are jointly responsible for classifying, clarifying or correcting where necessary, they should act in a participant-oriented manner and still maintain controversy while avoiding overwhelming. They must keep an eye on which positions and arguments are marginalized and should be pedagogically strengthened, but also where impulses can be set to further develop the ability to judge and strengthen action-taking capacity.

Wars become a topic in educational processes above all when they (could) affect us indirectly or directly - with regard to the Bundeswehr's deployment in Mali, for example, there are relatively few initiatives, but also few requests to make this a topic of political education. Obvious and explainable: war (in contrast to the usual peace in which most people in Germany live as a matter of course) is addressed when it potentially affects the reality of their own lives. It is definitely target group-oriented when we address the uncertainty that arises from the outbreak of war on European soil, and not only among young people.

It is an immense challenge that educators face. "The problem that arises in political education in such situations is speechlessness [...]. No one really knows what's going on and everyone thinks: 'First we have to read more and get better informed, then we can also deal with this topic as part of an educational program'. But that's wrong. Even more reading and more information will not prevent the feeling of powerlessness." (Quote, 2022 joddid.de)

In addition, there is another difficulty, which peace educator Uli Jäger succinctly formulated in his keynote speech at the partner conference of the Saxon State Center for Political Education (SLpB)[3]: The war in Ukraine is a worrying event in the perception of young people, but for young people as a whole it sorts itself into a multiple crisis situation. Young people continue to deal with the pandemic and its individual and social consequences, the climate crisis, poverty, displacement and migration. This does not make the war any less relevant; in some circumstances, it feels even more threatening because young people are already under immense pressure. As political educators, we therefore also have a responsibility to support and strengthen them in these times of uncertainty and offer them guidance.

According to Jäger, when engaging with young people on the topics of war and peace, we encounter three needs of young people: information, security and peace action. They can be illustrated by questions that children and young people have asked on the recommended portal www.frieden-fragen.deeingereicht. It offers the opportunity to have questions answered by experts from the Berghof Foundation in age-appropriate language and complexity. Both the questions and the answers are suitable for use in many educational and learning situations - this can also be a conversation between door and door.

Jäger illustrates the first need with the question "Why did Putin start the war?": someone needs information here. Adults should take this need seriously, even if and because they don't know everything. It is worth setting out together with young people in search of answers, doing research, supporting them in dealing critically with sources and strengthening young people in their ability to analyze. At the same time, political educators can help to create transparency for children and young people about how political decisions are made. For example, how a "turning point" decision is made. Chancellor Olaf Scholz alone did not dispose of 100 billion euros. It was the Bundestag in its entirety and after appropriate debate, albeit under great time pressure, that made the decision. The same applies to the issue of foreign deployments of the Bundeswehr and the issue of arms deliveries. It is also worth making visible and accessible not only contributions to wars, but also peace efforts by politicians and the state and looking at their instruments. (cf. e.g. worksheet 4 of the bpb's Falter Frieden machen, available at: https://www.bpb.de/shop/materialien/falter/250546/frieden-machen/) Looking at these measures and initiatives in parallel with the Bundeswehr's combat operations highlights the complexity of global security policy challenges.

Jäger quotes a second question from young people: "Is it likely that there will be a world war?" It stands for the need for security. Children are understandably afraid that they themselves could be affected by war. They can develop a fear of war. With a clear conscience, we can answer ad hoc that war in Germany is currently an unlikely scenario. Nevertheless, it must also be dealt with honestly that the peace narrative, which was also linked to the European Union, could not keep its promise. (cf. european-union.europa.eu).

The third question chosen by Jäger provides hope and encouragement. It expresses the fact that young people have a strong impulse to act in a peacemaking way when they are confronted with injustice and violence: "How can I learn Ukrainian? There's a boy from Ukraine in my soccer club." It would be presumptuous and counterproductive to make young people believe that they can change everything in the blink of an eye, but it is highly sensible and advisable to encourage them in their need to act for peace. For the individual, being able to make a concrete contribution themselves can be a tried and tested way out of the powerlessness they feel. This action always has a political dimension and relevance.

Educators are fundamentally operating in areas of tension within this spectrum. They must be willing and able to endure uncertainties. The war is ongoing, the news situation is constantly changing and the situation is often ambiguous. Nevertheless, security should be conveyed to the addressees so as not to fuel fear. It is also crucial to expose dilemmas as such and still provide points of reference for orientation. This also involves systematically combating disinformation. Last but not least, it is particularly important in extracurricular youth work to design open learning processes, to respond to the needs, questions and wishes of the participants and yet to develop values in educational work with adolescents that the addressees can adopt.

Making peace, but also war, a topic in educational situations always touches on education for sustainable development: Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) states "Peace, physical integrity and protection by a stable legal system are indispensable prerequisites for sustainable development and prosperity. The goal is the reduction of all forms of violence, access to justice for all and capable, accountable and transparent institutions" (see sdgs.un.org/goals). The 2030 Agenda contains many ideas on how this can be implemented in concrete terms in encounters with children and young people, especially with regard to youth work (see bildung2030.at)[4].

It is worth becoming aware of this in this context. The range of occasions and topics in which war and peace are addressed is expanding. It also raises broader questions than just looking at a specific war or conflict. It opens up different concepts of peace and asks what kind of peace do we actually mean? (see bpb explanatory video, What is peace?) But also: What paths to peace can we find? These questions can be answered at very different social and political levels - loosely based on Gerhart Himmelmann's concepts of democracy, derived for peace: Peace as a phenomenon of individual coexistence - such as the absence of conflict, the search for balance between competing interests in immediate coexistence, peace as a social principle in which there are generally recognized, non-violent modes of conflict resolution and settlement, and peace as a principle of rule in which internationally conflicting interests are negotiated diplomatically and mutual military attack is outlawed.

Addressing these issues in political education and youth work and addressing and strengthening the guiding value of peace always contributes to general educational goals. Conflict culture is promoted, the ability to engage in dialog is encouraged and empathy is strengthened. Specifically when dealing with peace and security policy, however, a change of perspective is also practiced, self-care is encouraged (to protect oneself from being overwhelmed by feelings of powerlessness) and tolerance of ambiguity is trained. Peace is taught to young people as a value and ethos (cf. Jäger 2023).

As with political education, peace education is not a social fire department. Where everyone is gasping for air and sometimes freezes, educators must also be allowed to pause to sort themselves out. This can be made clear and transparent to young people as well as to clients and other stakeholders (see Berghof Foundation 2022).

Literature and sources:

Berghof Foundation (2022): 11 friedenspädagogische Denkanstöße für den Umgang mit dem Ukraine-Krieg. https://berghof-foundation.org/news/friedenspaedagogische-denkanstoesse-fuer-den-umgang-mit-krieg-2  (abgerufen am 9.5.2023).

Berghof-Foundation (2022): „Friedensbildung ist keine Feuerwehr.“ Empfehlungen für die Zukunft der Friedensbildung.  https://berghof-foundation.org/news/friedensbildung-ist-keine-feuerwehr (abgerufen am 14.5.2023).

Bildung 2030. https://bildung2030.at/ausserschulische-lernorte/jugendarbeit/, (abgerufen am 9.5.2023).

bpb: Was ist Frieden? Erklärvideo im Rahmen der Ausstellung Frieden machen. https://www.bpb.de/mediathek/video/254312/was-ist-frieden/ (abgerufen am 14.5.2023).

Zu den Erfolgen der Europäischen Union: https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/achievements_de#:~:text=Frieden%20und%20Stabilität,Demokratie%2C%20Grundrechte%20und%20Rechtsstaatlichkeit%20ein. (Abbildung)

Jäger, Uli (2023): Mehr Friedensethik in der politischen Bildung? Keynote auf der Partnerkonferenz der Sächsischen Landeszentrale für politische Bildung am 9.11.2023 abrufbar unter https://youtu.be/ULD8hmKKwyk (abgerufen am27.4.2023).

Jäger, Uli (2023): Zeitenwende? Anregungen für eine Friedenspädagogik in Zeiten des Krieges. Zeitschrift für internationale Bildungsforschung und Entwicklungspädagogik (46. Jg. Heft 1), S. 10–12.

JoDDiD: über den Krieg sprechen. https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/powi/joddid/das-joddid/news/ueber-den-krieg-sprechen  (abgerufen am 27.4.2023).

Agnes Scharnetzky (2017): Frieden machen. Falter. bpb.  https://www.bpb.de/shop/materialien/falter/250546/frieden-machen/ (abgerufen am ??).

UNO: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). https://sdgs.un.org/goals ( abgerufen am 12.5.2023).

[1] Die zugrunde gelegte Kriegsdefinition beinhaltet nur Kriege bzw. Konflikte, bei denen mindestens ein Staat beteiligt ist und mehr als 25 Personen aufgrund von bewaffneten Gefechten verstorben sind. (Vgl. bpb, Themenmodul Krieg und Gewaltkonflikte, http://sicherheitspolitik.bpb.de/de/m1?V=1+21.62+36.91&L=m1-ac-timeline.c; [letzter Zugriff, 27.4.2023]

[2] Die Friedenspädagog*innen der Berghof Foundation haben ihre Überlegungen thesenartig zugänglich gemacht (vgl. https://berghof-foundation.org/news/friedenspaedagogische-denkanstoesse-fuer-den-umgang-mit-krieg-2), auch die John-Dewey-Forschungsstelle für die Didaktik der Demokratie hat Austausch initiiert und Impulse zur Verfügung gestellt. (www.joddid.de).

[3] Die Keynote ist videodokumentiert unter https://youtu.be/ULD8hmKKwyk.

[4] Vgl. https://bildung2030.at/ausserschulische-lernorte/jugendarbeit/