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UNESCO was founded 80 years ago in the aftermath of the Second World War with a mandate to build the defenses of peace through international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. In light of today’s multifaceted global challenges, including climate change, political polarization, deepening inequalities, and armed conflicts, the joint work of UNESCO and CIES for positive social transformation through education is more urgent than ever. This central role of education in addressing interconnected challenges to peace was reaffirmed in 2023, when all 194 UNESCO Member States adopted by consensus the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development, which defines education as a system-wide effort to address the root causes of violence in order to build, safeguard, and sustain peace.

Building on UNESCO’s ongoing work in education for peace, this session will provide a space for academics, policymakers, practitioners, and educators, particularly youth, to engage in reflection and dialogue. It will explore what education for peace means in practice and its implications for more coherent and impactful education sector programming.

This is a Presidential Invited Symposium of CIES 2026.

• Introductory Address

  Christopher Castle is Director of UNESCO’s Division for Peace and Sustainable Development and has more than 30 years of development experience in education and health, working at UNESCO since 2004. Before his current role, he held a position at UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning and later transferred to UNESCO Headquarters, where he served as Chief of the Section of Health and Education until November 2022. Mr Castle holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

• Invited Plenary Speakers

  H.E. Chernor Bah
  Civic Education for Peace in Resource-Constrained Contexts

  His Excellency Chernor Bah is the Minister of Information and Civic Education of Sierra Leone, responsible for government information, public engagement, and serving as the Government Spokesperson. He founded the Children’s Parliament of Sierra Leone and led youth participation initiatives at the United Nations. As a child, he testified before Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on behalf of war-affected youth. He has served on UN high-level panels and advised international organizations. As co-founder of Purposeful, he expanded feminist and girls’ rights initiatives worldwide.

  Michelle Bellino
  Memory, Truth, and Justice in Intergenerational Peacebuilding

  Michelle Bellino is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education. Her research centers on education and youth civic development in contexts impacted by armed conflict and forced displacement. Across diverse settings, she explores how experiences with violence, asylum, and peace and justice processes influence young people’s participation in schools and society, future aspirations, as well as educational access and inclusion. She is the author of Youth in Postwar Guatemala: Education and Civic Identity in Transition, and co-author of the UNESCO policy guide on “Addressing violent pasts through education” and the accompanying online course.

  Tony Jenkins
  Transforming Peace Education Systems and Pedagogies to Reach Marginalized Groups

  Professor Tony Jenkins is Assistant Teaching Professor of Justice and Peace Studies at Georgetown University, Managing Director of the International Institute on Peace Education, and Coordinator of the Global Campaign for Peace Education. He has more than 25 years of experience directing, designing, and facilitating peacebuilding and international educational programs. Professor Jenkins’ applied research is focused on examining the impacts and effectiveness of peace education methods and pedagogies in nurturing personal, social and political change and transformation.

  Kate Mallory
  Weaving Peace and Youth: Moving Beyond Tokenism

  Kate Mallory is a human rights advocate and MSc candidate in Human Rights and Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She serves as a Co-Chair of the Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship Thematic Area within the SDG4Youth & Student Network, a member of the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP)’s Youth Advisory Group, and a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum’s London Hub.

• Moderator

  Una O’Connor Bones is Professor of Educational Inclusion and Research Director at Ulster University.  Using the principles of deliberative democracy, she advocates for the collaborative contribution and impact that research can make when working in partnership with others.  This includes revitalising civic engagement and public consultation to be responsive to how people’s perspectives are informed, shaped and constrained, by their interpersonal relationships and social networks, the organisational context around school settings, the wider community in which they live and the public policies that govern the education system. 

• Organizer

  Cecilia Barbieri has been Chief of the Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education in UNESCO’s Education Sector since 2019. She has worked with UNESCO since 1999 as an education specialist across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, covering policy, planning, teacher training, education in conflict and crisis contexts, and the Education 2030 Agenda. She has 15 years’ experience in peace education, human rights, and intercultural understanding with an international NGO. She holds degrees and training in political science, development sociology, international humanitarian law and educational psychology.