Essay on Peace

500 words essay peace.

Peace is the path we take for bringing growth and prosperity to society. If we do not have peace and harmony, achieving political strength, economic stability and cultural growth will be impossible. Moreover, before we transmit the notion of peace to others, it is vital for us to possess peace within. It is not a certain individual’s responsibility to maintain peace but everyone’s duty. Thus, an essay on peace will throw some light on the same topic.

essay on peace

Importance of Peace

History has been proof of the thousands of war which have taken place in all periods at different levels between nations. Thus, we learned that peace played an important role in ending these wars or even preventing some of them.

In fact, if you take a look at all religious scriptures and ceremonies, you will realize that all of them teach peace. They mostly advocate eliminating war and maintaining harmony. In other words, all of them hold out a sacred commitment to peace.

It is after the thousands of destructive wars that humans realized the importance of peace. Earth needs peace in order to survive. This applies to every angle including wars, pollution , natural disasters and more.

When peace and harmony are maintained, things will continue to run smoothly without any delay. Moreover, it can be a saviour for many who do not wish to engage in any disrupting activities or more.

In other words, while war destroys and disrupts, peace builds and strengthens as well as restores. Moreover, peace is personal which helps us achieve security and tranquillity and avoid anxiety and chaos to make our lives better.

How to Maintain Peace

There are many ways in which we can maintain peace at different levels. To begin with humankind, it is essential to maintain equality, security and justice to maintain the political order of any nation.

Further, we must promote the advancement of technology and science which will ultimately benefit all of humankind and maintain the welfare of people. In addition, introducing a global economic system will help eliminate divergence, mistrust and regional imbalance.

It is also essential to encourage ethics that promote ecological prosperity and incorporate solutions to resolve the environmental crisis. This will in turn share success and fulfil the responsibility of individuals to end historical prejudices.

Similarly, we must also adopt a mental and spiritual ideology that embodies a helpful attitude to spread harmony. We must also recognize diversity and integration for expressing emotion to enhance our friendship with everyone from different cultures.

Finally, it must be everyone’s noble mission to promote peace by expressing its contribution to the long-lasting well-being factor of everyone’s lives. Thus, we must all try our level best to maintain peace and harmony.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Peace

To sum it up, peace is essential to control the evils which damage our society. It is obvious that we will keep facing crises on many levels but we can manage them better with the help of peace. Moreover, peace is vital for humankind to survive and strive for a better future.

FAQ of Essay on Peace

Question 1: What is the importance of peace?

Answer 1: Peace is the way that helps us prevent inequity and violence. It is no less than a golden ticket to enter a new and bright future for mankind. Moreover, everyone plays an essential role in this so that everybody can get a more equal and peaceful world.

Question 2: What exactly is peace?

Answer 2: Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in which there is no hostility and violence. In social terms, we use it commonly to refer to a lack of conflict, such as war. Thus, it is freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

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Making Peace

  • Posted December 23, 2015
  • By Leah Shafer

Educating for Peace

As 2015 draws to a close, we hope for a new year where cooperation and empathy supersede violence and suspicion. For our final article this year, Usable Knowledge asks: Can education foster a more peaceful world?

According to Silvia Diazgranados Ferráns , an instructor and doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education , it can. Her research on peace education reveals a complex field that seeks to help schools build communities that foster peacemaking and citizenship — to encourage students to become empathetic, inclusive, critical thinkers who have the skills to live peaceful lives.

The Goals of Peace Education

The goals of peace education vary widely across the world. In developing countries, where there is no specific enemy or conflict but a general lack of human rights, peace education seeks to elucidate sources of inequality to promote a more equitable, stable future. In areas of intractable conflict between specific groups, as in Israel and the Palestinian territories, peace education seeks to promote alternate narratives of the conflict to encourage mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration.

In areas where there is no active conflict or violation of human rights, peace education seeks to promote individual skills that reject the use violence and create stronger communities.

Peace Education in Action

For U.S. educators, a successful peace education program focuses on helping children develop the skills they’ll need to get along with others, solve conflicts in nonviolent ways, contribute positively to their communities, respect intergroup differences, and value diversity. Young children need to learn and practice these skills in relationship to their peers, teachers, and family members, Diazgranados Ferráns says. As they grow older, children need opportunities to practice these skills in the context of their broader community and to reflect on their potential global impact.

Diazgranados Ferráns notes that peace education lessons will only take root if peace education is a schoolwide effort that goes beyond a particular subject, embodied by every adult in the building and demonstrated throughout the school day. She outlines several ways that teachers and school leaders can incorporate peace education into their work, teaching students how to be empathetic, responsible, and active learners and leaders:

Model kindness and empathy Teachers, principals, and staff throughout the building can model how to love and care for others through their interactions among each other and with students. Adults should get to know students individually, appreciating the unique strengths and needs of each student and member of the school community.

Repair, don’t punish When students commit an offense, use models of restorative justice to help them understand the effects of their actions and how they can repair any damage done. Instead of punishing or excluding offenders, facilitate conversations on what would need to happen to restore balance in the community. The end goal is for children to understand the impact of their actions and to learn to take responsibility for them.

Create a democratic space Involve student voices in establishing and revising school and class norms. Create classrooms where children are encouraged to share their ideas. Share power with students and give them the space to question authority. Great injustices, inequalities, and atrocities take place when people either are uncritical of authority or aren’t given the appropriate space and courage to question and resist it, says Diazgranados Ferráns.

How to Educate for Peace: Model kindness and empathy. Repair, don’t punish. #hgse #usableknowledge @harvardeducation

Give a voice to the excluded On a micro level, this means encouraging students who are commonly excluded to speak up in class. On a macro level, this means incorporating into lessons the narratives of people who have been historically discriminated against or excluded. Have students think critically about why the knowledge and experiences of some groups of people are privileged over the knowledge and experiences of others.

Encourage collaboration in diverse groups Emphasize collaboration and teamwork and deemphasize competition and self-interests. Structure long-term projects that allow children from different social or ethnic groups to work together toward a common goal. Opportunities in which children get to know one another as individuals, says Diazgranados Ferráns, “may help break prejudices and establish caring relationships among members of different groups.”

Discuss controversial issues Facilitate discussions about divisive civic and ethical issues for children of all ages. These debates teach students not only about viewpoints different from their own, but also that it’s okay to disagree with authority figures and peers as long as it’s done respectfully and in a safe environment.

Integrate service learning With younger students, this can mean identifying and solving problems within their classroom. With older students, it can mean creating service projects that help their school, community, or people across world. “Children need to practice, from very, very early on, how to take action, to solve the problems in their community, to have a positive effect,” says Diazgranados Ferráns. “They don’t need to wait until they grow up to change the world.”

Additional Resources

  • Read more about Diazgranados Ferráns’ research .

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What is peace education exactly and why do we need it?

Emina, Peace education blog

When I started my peace education journey, I barely knew what this syntagma meant. I was very versed and knowledgeable about the education part and the nuances of teaching, but the peace part, and especially the combination of peace and education was quite new to me. So, I was learning while working and immersing myself into peacebuilding in my postwar, still very conflicted country of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

In the process I discovered something called facilitation and being a facilitator, being someone who eases the process of learning and who facilitates learning space, instead of “instilling the knowledge into the heads of my participants”. I grew up and I was educated in a very traditional teacher-oriented system, where the teachers are the sole authority who possess all the knowledge. Of course there were some quite bright, but rare examples of the teachers and professors who were actually facilitators, who were leading us through the process of learning and working “out of the box”.

Emina

Over time peace education became my passion, and I even enrolled in another MA (Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding) to enhance my knowledge on the peace and interfaith part of this equation. Now that I have more than 7 years of experience in my head, heart and hands I cannot but notice that peace education is still a very contested notion. Many things are being put under this umbrella term, people who work in the field are not always taken seriously as they should be, peace in general is taken for granted and all the efforts of countless people who work in the field are not emphasized and appreciated enough.

This article aims to bring a bit more clarity to this term, through a small desk research on the existing bibliography on peace education. Also, as someone who has been working for 7 years in the peace education sector, I want us to be clear that we know what we are talking about when we say that we are peace educators, since this discipline deserves more attention and much more credibility than it has been given to it. Let us begin with how and when peace education efforts started and later on we will focus on a description of peace education and contents of it, which will help us to understand branches of this type of education.

The term peace education can be traced back to the 17th century and Czech educator (pedagogue) named Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), but the term and movement of peace education got its prominence and flourished with famous Italian educator Maria Montessori at the beginning of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that way before the two of them, forms of peace education existed within different communities. According to Harris (2008) peace education has been practiced informally by generations of humans who wanted to resolve conflicts in ways that do not use deadly force. Indigenous peoples have conflict resolution traditions that have been passed down through millennia that help promote peace within their communities. Also, we should not forget to mention religious teachings that promote peace and uphold the peace education efforts for thousands of years. Religious and spiritual figures such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Moses, Lao Tse or Baha’u’llah are often considered peace educators. Even though we should be aware that many religious teachings have been instrumentalized for the opposite as well, for wars and violence.

While reading different articles on peace education, I found the way that Kester (2010) describes peace education to be very clear and encompassing. He stresses that “in practice, peace education is problem-posing education that attempts to build in every person the universal values and behaviors on which a culture of peace is predicated, including the development of non-violent conflict resolution skills and a commitment to working together to realize a shared and preferred future”. He also adds that “peace education includes the cultivation of peacebuilding skills (e.g., dialogue, mediation, artistic endeavors). Peace educators, then, teach the values of respect, understanding, and nonviolence, present skills for analyzing international conflict, educate for alternative security systems, and use a pedagogy that is democratic and participatory. Thus, peace education as a practice and philosophy refers to matching complementary elements between education and society, where the social purposes (i.e., why teach), content (i.e., what to teach), and pedagogy (i.e., how to teach) of the educative process are conducive to fostering peace” (Kester, 2010: 2).

To help us better understand peace education (PE) it is useful to mention 5 principles of this education. According to Harris (2004) these 5 principles are the following:

  • PE explains the roots of violence
  • PE teaches alternatives to violence
  • PE adjusts to cover different forms of violence
  • Peace itself is a process that varies according to context
  • Conflict is omnipresent

Now that we know what peace education is about, we could ask ourselves about the content and branches. Different authors propose diverse approaches to this question, but here I would like to emphasize the one from Ian Harris (2004) and Navarro-Castro and Nario-Galace (2010). Harris divides peace education into 5 categories: international education, development education, environmental education, human rights education, and conflict resolution education. On the other side Navarro-Castro and Nario-Galace propose a 10-fold model that besides the above mentioned 5 categories includes: disarmament education, global education, multicultural education, interfaith education, and gender-fair/non-sexist education.

To make peace education closer to us, I also would like to mention two models of peace education: Learning to Abolish War Model (Reardon and Cabezudo 2002)and Flower-Petal Model of Peace Education (Toh 2004).

As already noted, we need to be aware that it’s not just what we teach, but how we teach as well, i.e., how we facilitate the process of learning. It’s hard to imagine peace education programs and values, implemented through traditional authoritarian models of education that most of us grew up with. How can we practice nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts, when we impose on learners our own way of thinking, when we ask them to learn things through rote learning, instead using meaningful or active learning through which they can develop critical thinking skills.

Ian Harris (1988) , one of the leading authors in the field of peace education, stresses a holistic approach to peace education that could apply to community education, elementary and secondary schools, as well as college classrooms. According to him, peaceful pedagogy must be integral to any attempt to teach about peace and key ingredients of such pedagogy are cooperative learning, democratic community, moral sensitivity, and critical thinking. Duckworth (2008) emphasizes that for peace education to be effective, the methods teachers and administrators use must be consistent with the values purportedly being taught to students. They must be modeled as well. The implicit curriculum must harmonize with the explicit curriculum.

In the words of Kester (2010) “an education for peace program, thus, pedagogically emphasizes values (tolerance, respect, equality, empathy, compassion), capacities (cultural proficiency, sensitivity), skills (nonviolent communication, active listening, competence in a foreign language, gender-inclusive language), and knowledge (of history and cultures, peace movements) for peace. The pedagogy includes cooperative learning activities, gender perspectives, creative reflection and journaling, theatre games, role-plays, empathy-building activities, and alternative futures exercises” (Kester, 2010: 5).

One very important thing we need to mention and know about peace education, is that this education depends on the context. Peace educators around the world practice different approaches and different types of peace education depending on what is a burning issue in their communities. For example, somewhere conflict resolution education is more needed than global education or environmental education, due to ongoing religious, ethnic, or national hostilities. This doesn’t mean that other types of peace education are not important or needed, but one type is more urgent than the other. And of course, the content facilitated, relies heavily on the context.

emina2

Now that we know all this about peace education, we can ask a question where to teach peace education and in which manner. Should it be in formal or non-formal contexts, should it be taught as a single subject, or should it be holistic and transdisciplinary? I think a very good answer could be found in the Declaration and Integrated Framework of Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (1995) which suggests that education for peace must be trans-disciplinary and included in all learning spaces. It should not be limited to a single classroom or subject. The institution or space in which education for peace operates should be in harmony with the goals and lessons of peace education and peace education should be integrated into all learning spaces.

And last but not the least, comes the question, why do we need peace education?

Like many other things, I believe that education can be used for both: as a space for nurturing and developing cultures of peace or cultures of war. This solely depends on us, i.e., if we want to see our youth militarized, afraid of the other ethnic and religious groups, afraid of their neighbors, ready to obey and listen to calls for violence in order to protect their land, culture, religion etc. (for the gains of the elites who profit from the war) or if we want our youth to think critically, know their neighbors, be culturally sensitive, ready to speak to and understand those who belong to other groups, who are often portrayed as enemies. It also depends on us if we will employ education as a way to protect our environment or if we will teach our children to exploit the planet and its resources for their own gain (including waging wars that could destroy our habitat).  The future is blurry and unknown, but it is up to all of us to shape it and give our best to actually leave a planet where our children and grandchildren can live (in peace).

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Making Peace: How Schools can Foster a more Peaceful World

importance of peace essay for students

(Original article: Leah Shafer, Usable Knowledge: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dec. 23, 2015 )

As 2015 draws to a close, we hope for a new year where cooperation and empathy supersede violence and suspicion. For our final article this year, Usable Knowledge asks: Can education foster a more peaceful world?

According to Silvia Diazgranados Ferráns , an instructor and doctoral candidate at the  Harvard Graduate School of Education , it can. Her research on peace education reveals a complex field that seeks to help schools build communities that foster peacemaking and citizenship — to encourage students to become empathetic, inclusive, critical thinkers who have the skills to live peaceful lives.

THE GOALS OF PEACE EDUCATION

The goals of peace education vary widely across the world. In developing countries, where there is no specific enemy or conflict but a general lack of human rights, peace education seeks to elucidate sources of inequality to promote a more equitable, stable future. In areas of intractable conflict between specific groups, as in Israel and the Palestinian territories, peace education seeks to promote alternate narratives of the conflict to encourage mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration.

In areas where there is no active conflict or violation of human rights, peace education seeks to promote individual skills that reject the use violence and create stronger communities.

PEACE EDUCATION IN ACTION

For U.S. educators, a successful peace education program focuses on helping children develop the skills they’ll need to get along with others, solve conflicts in nonviolent ways, contribute positively to their communities, respect intergroup differences, and value diversity. Young children need to learn and practice these skills in relationship to their peers, teachers, and family members, Diazgranados Ferráns says. As they grow older, children need opportunities to practice these skills in the context of their broader community and to reflect on their potential global impact.

Diazgranados Ferráns notes that peace education lessons will only take root if peace education is a schoolwide effort that goes beyond a particular subject, embodied by every adult in the building and demonstrated throughout the school day. She outlines several ways that teachers and school leaders can incorporate peace education into their work, teaching students how to be empathetic, responsible, and active learners and leaders:

  • Model kindness and empathy Teachers, principals, and staff throughout the building can model how to love and care for others through their interactions among each other and with students. Adults should get to know students individually, appreciating the unique strengths and needs of each student and member of the school community.
  • Repair, don’t punish When students commit an offense, use models of restorative justice to help them understand the effects of their actions and how they can repair any damage done. Instead of punishing or excluding offenders, facilitate conversations on what would need to happen to restore balance in the community. The end goal is for children to understand the impact of their actions and to learn to take responsibility for them.
  • Create a democratic space Involve student voices in establishing and revising school and class norms. Create classrooms where children are encouraged to share their ideas. Share power with students and give them the space to question authority. Great injustices, inequalities, and atrocities take place when people either are uncritical of authority or aren’t given the appropriate space and courage to question and resist it, says Diazgranados Ferráns.
  • Use experiential learning Arrange lessons so that students learn by doing. Give students assignments that promote creativity and critical thinking. Whenever possible, instead of lecturing material, allow students to grapple with and debate it, to conduct experiments, or to participate in projects.
  • Give a voice to the excluded On a micro level, this means encouraging students who are commonly excluded to speak up in class. On a macro level, this means incorporating into lessons the narratives of people who have been historically discriminated against or excluded. Have students think critically about why the knowledge and experiences of some groups of people are privileged over the knowledge and experiences of others.
  • Encourage collaboration in diverse groups Emphasize collaboration and teamwork and deemphasize competition and self-interests. Structure long-term projects that allow children from different social or ethnic groups to work together toward a common goal. Opportunities in which children get to know one another as individuals, says Diazgranados Ferráns, “may help break prejudices and establish caring relationships among members of different groups.”
  • Discuss controversial issues Facilitate discussions about divisive civic and ethical issues for children of all ages. These debates teach students not only about viewpoints different from their own, but also that it’s okay to disagree with authority figures and peers as long as it’s done respectfully and in a safe environment.
  • Integrate service learning With younger students, this can mean identifying and solving problems within their classroom. With older students, it can mean creating service projects that help their school, community, or people across world. “Children need to practice, from very, very early on, how to take action, to solve the problems in their community, to have a positive effect,” says Diazgranados Ferráns. “They don’t need to wait until they grow up to change the world.”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Read more about Diazgranados Ferráns’ research and learn about her HGSE course on peace education .

( Go to original article )

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Essay On Peace for School Students in 100 – 300

importance of peace essay for students

  • Updated on  
  • Nov 22, 2023

Essay on Peace

Peace is something we all wish for as it allows us growth and prosperity in life. A society without peace cannot survive for long and there will always be disputes between people. Peace is defined as the absence of any disturbance, conflict, or violence. It exists on various levels, including personal, interpersonal, societal, and international. Writing a peace essay requires a proper understanding of this term, from its importance in our lives to how it can shape a better tomorrow. Here are some samples of essay on peace for school students.

Table of Contents

  • 1 Essay on Peace in 100 Words
  • 2 Essay on Peace in 200 Words
  • 3.1 Why is Peace Important?
  • 3.2 Ways to Promote Peace

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Essay on Peace in 100 Words

Peace refers to societal friendship and harmony, where negative activities like violence, hostility, and hatred are not present. The significance of peace can have multiple levels, from individual to societal and international. Peace is something that comes from within. 

On a personal level, a person must have inner calmness and contentment to achieve peace. Peace becomes a broader aspect at the societal and international level, which involves concepts like social justice, equality, and the presence of diplomacy and cooperation between nations.

Achieving and maintaining peace requires efforts from all sides. In this way, it can foster understanding and tolerance among individuals and communities. 

Also Read: Essay on Farmer for School Students

Essay on Peace in 200 Words

Peace can only be achieved when everyone in the room abides by the laws of friendship and cooperation. Consider this quote on peace by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘If you want real peace in the world, start with children.’ He and thousands of other freedom fighters struggled for decades to achieve true peace.

Although now are not living in a colonial era, we are struggling for true peace; a society free from poverty, hunger, corruption, and crime; one where everyone can feel safe. Only in a world free from the constant threat of violence, conflict, or war can allow us to pursue our goals, develop relationships, and lead fulfilling lives.

Nations establish diplomatic relations so that peace can be maintained at the international level. This cooperation between nations is essential to prevent conflicts that can have far-reaching consequences. Peace is an essential component for the protection of human rights, ensuring that individuals can live free from violence and oppression.

We are the future and it is our duty to establish law and order to achieve true peace. Only then we can cultivate the seed of education, healthcare, and environmental conservation . Our today’s efforts will affect our tomorrow. The importance of nurturing and maintaining peace cannot be overstated, for it is the cornerstone upon which the aspirations of individuals and societies rest.

Also Read: Essay on New Year for School Students

Essay on Peace in 300 Words

We all want a free-will life; one where we can achieve and fulfil our goals in real time. Peace is very important for individuals, society, and nations to strive towards the road of success. Achieving peace requires collective efforts so that we can create a world where everyone can live free from fear, violence, and the threat of conflict. 

We all want a life of free will, where we can achieve and fulfill our goals in real time but how can it be possible with so much bloodshed and mayhem around the corner, where one man is threatening others with a missile?

Why is Peace Important?

Peace is a multifaceted concept and its importance varies from individual level to global level.

  • Peace offers us all the necessary conditions to lead a secure and fulfilled life.
  • A peaceful society creates a sense of brotherhood, where everyone is respected and appreciated for their achievements.
  • It fosters cooperative relationships among communities and societies and encourages cooperation, understanding, and tolerance.
  • New heights of economic development can be achieved in a peaceful society.
  • Communities can exchange ideas and traditions to foster mutual understanding and appreciation.
  • Peace is considered as an investment in the well-being of future generations.

Ways to Promote Peace

There are multiple ways in which we can promote peace, starting with ourselves and understanding how beneficial it can be for us in career prosperity and building relationships.

  • Volunteering for peaceful rallies.
  • Create a peaceful mantra/ affirmation.
  • Sign a peace pledge.
  • Learn to forgive your enemies.
  • Understand what are the causes of violence.
  • Listen to learned individuals.
  • Learn from others’ mistakes.
  • Learn to say sorry and accept your mistakes

Creating a peaceful society is not as difficult as it may sound; for it requires collective effort. Once we understand what we are capable of achieving, then we are just a step away from building a ‘perfect world.’

Ans: Peace is essential for the prosperity of individuals and society as a whole.  A society without peace cannot survive for long and there will always be disputes between people. Peace is defined as the absence of any disturbance, conflict, or violence. It exists on different various levels, including personal, interpersonal, societal, and international.

Ans: Without peace, our world cannot survive, as there will be conflicts and wars between countries, communities will act in non-cooperative ways, and individuals will have grudges against each other. Peace is very important to establish a world where everyone can live in harmony and lead a prosperous life.

Ans: Mentioned below are some lines on the importance of peace: -Peace is the bedrock to edifice human progress and prosperity. -Peace is like the thread that is capable of weaving the fabric of harmony and understanding. -Peace is the key to unlocking the potential of individuals and communities. -Peace is like a guiding light, that offers us solace, security, and a path to reconciliation. -Peace is a lifelong journey towards a world where compassion triumphs over conflict.

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Essay on Peace And Harmony

Students are often asked to write an essay on Peace And Harmony in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Peace And Harmony

Understanding peace and harmony.

Peace and harmony mean when people live without fighting, and everything is calm. Imagine a quiet lake or a group of friends sharing toys. It’s like that, but for everyone in the world.

Why They Matter

Living in peace makes us happy. When we get along with others, we feel good, and our heart is light. Harmony brings people together, making our world a better place.

Creating Peace

To make peace, we must be kind and listen to others. We should not shout or be mean. Sharing, helping, and understanding each other are the keys to a peaceful life.

Peace at Home and School

Peace starts with us. At home, we can be nice to our family. At school, we can be friends with everyone. No bullying, no teasing, just smiles and teamwork.

Working Together

When we work together, we can solve big problems. By talking and not fighting, we can fix things that are wrong and make sure everyone is happy and safe.

Also check:

  • Paragraph on Peace And Harmony

250 Words Essay on Peace And Harmony

Peace and harmony mean living without fighting, anger, or fear. Imagine a world where everyone gets along, like friends in a playground. Peace is when people are calm and happy inside, and harmony is when they share that happiness with others.

Why Peace and Harmony Matter

Peace and harmony are important because they make life better for everyone. Think of your home. When everyone is kind and understands each other, it feels safe and warm. That’s what peace and harmony do; they create a place where we all feel good.

Building Peace and Harmony

To build peace, we must learn to be patient and not get angry quickly. We should listen to others and try to understand how they feel. Harmony comes when we help each other and work as a team. It’s like playing a sport where everyone passes the ball and cheers for one another.

Peace and Harmony in the World

In the big world, peace and harmony mean countries and people not fighting. Leaders and citizens must talk and solve problems without using force. This way, we can all live safely and enjoy life.

Everyone’s Role

Everyone has a part in making peace and harmony. You can start by being nice to your family and friends. Share, don’t fight over toys, and say sorry when you make a mistake. When we all do these small things, we make our world a peaceful and happy place.

500 Words Essay on Peace And Harmony

Peace and harmony are like two best friends who always go together. Imagine a world where everyone is kind to each other, where no one fights, and where all people, animals, and nature live happily. That world is full of peace and harmony.

Peace means no war, no fighting, and no being mean. It’s like a quiet, calm day with no storms. Harmony is when everyone gets along well, like different notes in a song that sound beautiful together.

Why Peace and Harmony are Important

Think about a time when you played with your friends without any arguments. It felt good, right? That’s because when we live in peace and get along, we feel safe and happy. We do better in school, have fun with our friends, and our families are happier too.

Without peace, we would always be scared and worried. And without harmony, we would always be alone because we wouldn’t have friends. That’s why having both peace and harmony is very important for all of us.

Peace and Harmony at Home

Our homes are the first places where we learn about peace and harmony. When family members love and care for each other, and when there are no shouts or fights, that’s peace. And when everyone in the family listens and respects each other’s ideas, that’s harmony.

For example, when you share your toys with your brother or sister and play without fighting, your home is filled with peace and harmony.

Peace and Harmony in School

School is another place where we can see peace and harmony. When students are friendly and teachers are kind, the school feels like a happy place. No bullying and no cheating on tests are signs of peace. When students from different places and backgrounds become friends and learn together, that’s harmony.

In a peaceful and harmonious school, everyone feels like they belong and can do their best.

The whole world needs peace and harmony too. Countries should not fight with each other. Instead, they should talk and solve problems without hurting anyone. When countries work together, share things, and help each other, our world becomes a better place.

Just like in a family or school, when the world has peace and harmony, there is less sadness and more joy.

How We Can Help

Even as students, we can do a lot to make peace and harmony around us. We can be kind to others, not fight, and help those who need it. We can also learn about other people and respect them, even if they are different from us.

By doing small things every day, like saying “thank you” and “sorry,” we build peace and harmony. And when we grow up, we can keep doing these things to make a bigger difference in the world.

In conclusion, peace and harmony are very precious. They make our lives happy, our homes loving, and our world beautiful. We all should work to keep peace and harmony everywhere, starting with ourselves. Remember, a peaceful and harmonious world begins with you and me.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Peace And Development
  • Essay on Peace
  • Essay on Patriotism And Nationalism

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importance of peace essay for students

World Peace Essay: Prompts, How-to Guide, & 200+ Topics

Throughout history, people have dreamed of a world without violence, where harmony and justice reign. This dream of world peace has inspired poets, philosophers, and politicians for centuries. But is it possible to achieve peace globally? Writing a world peace essay will help you find the answer to this question and learn more about the topic.

In this article, our custom writing team will discuss how to write an essay on world peace quickly and effectively. To inspire you even more, we have prepared writing prompts and topics that can come in handy.

  • ✍️ Writing Guide
  • 🦄 Essay Prompts
  • ✔️ World Peace Topics
  • 🌎 Pacifism Topics
  • ✌️ Catchy Essay Titles
  • 🕊️ Research Topics on Peace
  • 💡 War and Peace Topics
  • ☮️ Peace Title Ideas
  • 🌐 Peace Language Topics

🔗 References

✍️ how to achieve world peace essay writing guide.

Stuck with your essay about peace? Here is a step-by-step writing guide with many valuable tips to make your paper well-structured and compelling.

1. Research the Topic

The first step in writing your essay on peace is conducting research. You can look for relevant sources in your university library, encyclopedias, dictionaries, book catalogs, periodical databases, and Internet search engines. Besides, you can use your lecture notes and textbooks for additional information.

Among the variety of sources that could be helpful for a world peace essay, we would especially recommend checking the Global Peace Index report . It presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis of current trends in world peace. It’s a credible report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, so you can cite it as a source in your aper.

Here are some other helpful resources where you can find information for your world peace essay:

  • United Nations Peacekeeping
  • International Peace Institute
  • United States Institute of Peace
  • European Union Institute for Security Studies
  • Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

2. Create an Outline

Outlining is an essential aspect of the essay writing process. It helps you plan how you will connect all the facts to support your thesis statement.

To write an outline for your essay about peace, follow these steps:

  • Determine your topic and develop a thesis statement .
  • Choose the main points that will support your thesis and will be covered in your paper.
  • Organize your ideas in a logical order.
  • Think about transitions between paragraphs.

Here is an outline example for a “How to Achieve World Peace” essay. Check it out to get a better idea of how to structure your paper.

  • Definition of world peace.
  • The importance of global peace.
  • Thesis statement: World peace is attainable through combined efforts on individual, societal, and global levels.
  • Practive of non-violent communication.
  • Development of healthy relationships.
  • Promotion of conflict resolution skills.
  • Promotion of democracy and human rights.
  • Support of peacebuilding initiatives.
  • Protection of cultural diversity.
  • Encouragement of arms control and non-proliferation.
  • Promotion of international law and treaties.
  • Support of intercultural dialogue and understanding.
  • Restated thesis.
  • Call to action.

You can also use our free essay outline generator to structure your world peace essay.

3. Write Your World Peace Essay

Now, it’s time to use your outline to write an A+ paper. Here’s how to do it:

  • Start with the introductory paragraph , which states the topic, presents a thesis, and provides a roadmap for your essay. If you need some assistance with this part, try our free introduction generator .
  • Your essay’s main body should contain at least 3 paragraphs. Each of them should provide explanations and evidence to develop your argument.
  • Finally, in your conclusion , you need to restate your thesis and summarize the points you’ve covered in the paper. It’s also a good idea to add a closing sentence reflecting on your topic’s significance or encouraging your audience to take action. Feel free to use our essay conclusion generator to develop a strong ending for your paper.

4. Revise and Proofread

Proofreading is a way to ensure your essay has no typos and grammar mistakes. Here are practical tips for revising your work:

  • Take some time. Leaving your essay for a day or two before revision will give you a chance to look at it from another angle.
  • Read out loud. To catch run-on sentences or unclear ideas in your writing, read it slowly and out loud. You can also use our Read My Essay to Me tool.
  • Make a checklist . Create a list for proofreading to ensure you do not miss any important details, including structure, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting.
  • Ask someone for feedback. It is always a good idea to ask your professor, classmate, or friend to read your essay and give you constructive criticism on the work.
  • Note down the mistakes you usually make. By identifying your weaknesses, you can work on them to become a more confident writer.

🦄 World Peace Essay Writing Prompts

Looking for an interesting idea for your world peace essay? Look no further! Use our writing prompts to get a dose of inspiration.

How to Promote Peace in the Community Essay Prompt

Promoting peace in the world always starts in small communities. If people fight toxic narratives, negative stereotypes, and hate crimes, they will build a strong and united community and set a positive example for others.

In your essay on how to promote peace in the community, you can dwell on the following ideas:

  • Explain the importance of accepting different opinions in establishing peace in your area.
  • Analyze how fighting extremism in all its forms can unite the community and create a peaceful environment.
  • Clarify what peace means in the context of your community and what factors contribute to or hinder it.
  • Investigate the role of dialogue in resolving conflicts and building mutual understanding in the community.

How to Promote Peace as a Student Essay Prompt

Students, as an active part of society, can play a crucial role in promoting peace at various levels. From educational entities to worldwide conferences, they have an opportunity to introduce the idea of peace for different groups of people.

Check out the following fresh ideas for your essay on how to promote peace as a student:

  • Analyze how information campaigns organized by students can raise awareness of peace-related issues.
  • Discuss the impact of education in fostering a culture of peace.
  • Explore how students can use social media to advocate for a peaceful world.
  • Describe your own experience of taking part in peace-promoting campaigns or programs.

How Can We Maintain Peace in Our Society Essay Prompt

Maintaining peace in society is a difficult but achievable task that requires constant attention and effort from all members of society.

We have prepared ideas that can come in handy when writing an essay about how we can maintain peace in our society:

  • Investigate the role of tolerance, understanding of different cultures, and respect for religions in promoting peace in society.
  • Analyze the importance of peacekeeping organizations.
  • Provide real-life examples of how people promote peace.
  • Offer practical suggestions for how individuals and communities can work together to maintain peace.

Youth Creating a Peaceful Future Essay Prompt

Young people are the future of any country, as well as the driving force to create a more peaceful world. Their energy and motivation can aid in finding new methods of coping with global hate and violence.

In your essay, you can use the following ideas to show the role of youth in creating a peaceful world:

  • Analyze the key benefits of youth involvement in peacekeeping.
  • Explain why young people are leading tomorrow’s change today.
  • Identify the main ingredients for building a peaceful generation with the help of young people’s initiatives.
  • Investigate how adolescent girls can be significant agents of positive change in their communities.

Is World Peace Possible Essay Prompt

Whether or not the world can be a peaceful place is one of the most controversial topics. While most people who hear the question “Is a world without war possible?” will probably answer “no,” others still believe in the goodness of humanity.

To discuss in your essay if world peace is possible, use the following ideas:

  • Explain how trade, communication, and technology can promote cooperation and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
  • Analyze the role of international organizations like the United Nations and the European Union in maintaining peace in the world.
  • Investigate how economic inequality poses a severe threat to peace and safety.
  • Dwell on the key individual and national interests that can lead to conflict and competition between countries.

✔️ World Peace Topics for Essays

To help get you started with writing, here’s a list of 200 topics you can use for your future essTo help get you started with writing a world peace essay, we’ve prepared a list of topics you can use:

  • Defining peace
  • Why peace is better: benefits of living in harmony
  • Is world peace attainable? Theory and historical examples
  • Sustainable peace: is peace an intermission of war?
  • Peaceful coexistence: how a society can do without wars
  • Peaceful harmony or war of all against all: what came first?
  • The relationship between economic development and peace
  • Peace and Human Nature: Can Humans Live without Conflicts ?
  • Prerequisites for peace : what nations need to refrain from war?
  • Peace as an unnatural phenomenon: why people tend to start a war?
  • Peace as a natural phenomenon: why people avoid starting a war?
  • Is peace the end of the war or its beginning?
  • Hybrid war and hybrid peace
  • What constitutes peace in the modern world
  • Does two countries’ not attacking each other constitute peace?
  • “Cold peace” in the international relations today
  • What world religions say about world peace
  • Defining peacemaking
  • Internationally recognized symbols of peace
  • World peace: a dream or a goal?

🌎 Peace Essay Topics on Pacifism

  • History of pacifism: how the movement started and developed
  • Role of the pacifist movement in the twentieth-century history
  • Basic philosophical principles of pacifism
  • Pacifism as philosophy and as a movement
  • The peace sign: what it means
  • How the pacifist movement began: actual causes
  • The anti-war movements: what did the activists want?
  • The relationship between pacifism and the sexual revolution
  • Early pacifism: examples from ancient times
  • Is pacifism a religion?
  • Should pacifists refrain from any kinds of violence?
  • Is the pacifist movement a threat to the national security?
  • Can a pacifist work in law enforcement authorities?
  • Pacifism and non-violence: comparing and contrasting
  • The pacifist perspective on the concept of self-defense
  • Pacifism in art: examples of pacifistic works of art
  • Should everyone be a pacifist?
  • Pacifism and diet: should every pacifist be a vegetarian ?
  • How pacifists respond to oppression
  • The benefits of an active pacifist movement for a country

✌️ Interesting Essay Titles about Peace

  • Can the country that won a war occupy the one that lost?
  • The essential peace treaties in history
  • Should a country that lost a war pay reparations?
  • Peace treaties that caused new, more violent wars
  • Can an aggressor country be deprived of the right to have an army after losing a war?
  • Non-aggression pacts do not prevent wars
  • All the countries should sign non-aggression pacts with one another
  • Peace and truces: differences and similarities
  • Do countries pursue world peace when signing peace treaties?
  • The treaty of Versailles: positive and negative outcomes
  • Ceasefires and surrenders: the world peace perspective
  • When can a country break a peace treaty?
  • Dealing with refugees and prisoners of war under peace treaties
  • Who should resolve international conflicts?
  • The role of the United Nations in enforcing peace treaties
  • Truce envoys’ immunities
  • What does a country do after surrendering unconditionally?
  • A separate peace: the ethical perspective
  • Can a peace treaty be signed in modern-day hybrid wars?
  • Conditions that are unacceptable in a peace treaty

🕊️ Research Topics on Peace and Conflict Resolution

  • Can people be forced to stop fighting?
  • Successful examples of peace restoration through the use of force
  • Failed attempts to restore peace with legitimate violence
  • Conflict resolution vs conflict transformation
  • What powers peacemakers should not have
  • Preemptive peacemaking: can violence be used to prevent more abuse?
  • The status of peacemakers in the international law
  • Peacemaking techniques: Gandhi’s strategies
  • How third parties can reconcile belligerents
  • The role of the pacifist movement in peacemaking
  • The war on wars: appropriate and inappropriate approaches to peacemaking
  • Mistakes that peacemakers often stumble upon
  • The extent of peacemaking : when the peacemakers’ job is done
  • Making peace and sustaining it: how peacemakers prevent future conflicts
  • The origins of peacemaking
  • What to do if peacemaking does not work
  • Staying out: can peacemaking make things worse?
  • A personal reflection on the effectiveness of peacemaking
  • Prospects of peacemaking
  • Personal experience of peacemaking

💡 War and Peace Essay Topics

  • Counties should stop producing new types of firearms
  • Countries should not stop producing new types of weapons
  • Mutual assured destruction as a means of sustaining peace
  • The role of nuclear disarmament in world peace
  • The nuclear war scenario: what will happen to the world?
  • Does military intelligence contribute to sustaining peace?
  • Collateral damage: analyzing the term
  • Can the defenders of peace take up arms?
  • For an armed person, is killing another armed person radically different from killing an unarmed one? Ethical and legal perspectives
  • Should a healthy country have a strong army?
  • Firearms should be banned
  • Every citizen has the right to carry firearms
  • The correlation between gun control and violence rates
  • The second amendment: modern analysis
  • Guns do not kill: people do
  • What weapons a civilian should never be able to buy
  • Biological and chemical weapons
  • Words as a weapon: rhetoric wars
  • Can a pacifist ever use a weapon?
  • Can dropping weapons stop the war?

☮️ Peace Title Ideas for Essays

  • How the nuclear disarmament emblem became the peace sign
  • The symbolism of a dove with an olive branch
  • Native Americans’ traditions of peace declaration
  • The mushroom cloud as a cultural symbol
  • What the world peace awareness ribbon should look like
  • What I would like to be the international peace sign
  • The history of the International Day of Peace
  • The peace sign as an accessory
  • The most famous peace demonstrations
  • Hippies’ contributions to the peace symbolism
  • Anti-war and anti-military symbols
  • How to express pacifism as a political position
  • The rainbow as a symbol of peace
  • Can a white flag be considered a symbol of peace?
  • Examples of the inappropriate use of the peace sign
  • The historical connection between the peace sign and the cannabis leaf sign
  • Peace symbols in different cultures
  • Gods of war and gods of peace: examples from the ancient mythology
  • Peace sign tattoo: pros and cons
  • Should the peace sign be placed on a national flag?

🌐 Essay Topics about Peace Language

  • The origin and historical context of the word “peace”
  • What words foreign languages use to denote “peace”
  • What words, if any, should a pacifist avoid?
  • The pacifist discourse: key themes
  • Disintegration language: “us” vs “them”
  • How to combat war propaganda
  • Does political correctness promote world peace?
  • Can an advocate of peace be harsh in his or her speeches?
  • Effective persuasive techniques in peace communications and negotiations
  • Analyzing the term “world peace”
  • If the word “war” is forbidden, will wars stop?
  • Is “peacemaking” a right term?
  • Talk to the hand: effective and ineffective interpersonal communication techniques that prevent conflicts
  • The many meanings of the word “peace”
  • The pacifists’ language: when pacifists swear, yell, or insult
  • Stressing similarities instead of differences as a tool of peace language
  • The portrayal of pacifists in movies
  • The portrayals of pacifists in fiction
  • Pacifist lyrics: examples from the s’ music
  • Poems that supported peace The power of the written word
  • Peaceful coexistence: theory and practice
  • Under what conditions can humans coexist peacefully?
  • “A man is a wolf to another man”: the modern perspective
  • What factors prevent people from committing a crime?
  • Right for peace vs need for peace
  • Does the toughening of punishment reduce crime?
  • The Stanford prison experiment: implications
  • Is killing natural?
  • The possibility of universal love: does disliking always lead to conflicts?
  • Basic income and the dynamics of thefts
  • Hobbesian Leviathan as the guarantee of peace
  • Is state-concentrated legitimate violence an instrument for reducing violence overall?
  • Factors that undermine peaceful coexistence
  • Living in peace vs living for peace
  • The relationship between otherness and peacefulness
  • World peace and human nature: the issue of attainability
  • The most successful examples of peaceful coexistence
  • Lack of peace as lack of communication
  • Point made: counterculture and pacifism
  • What Woodstock proved to world peace nonbelievers and opponents?
  • Woodstock and peaceful coexistence: challenges and successes
  • Peace, economics, and quality of life
  • Are counties living in peace wealthier? Statistics and reasons
  • Profits of peace and profits of war: comparison of benefits and losses
  • Can a war improve the economy? Discussing examples
  • What is more important for people: having appropriate living conditions or winning a war?
  • How wars can improve national economies: the perspective of aggressors and defenders
  • Peace obstructers: examples of interest groups that sustained wars and prevented peace
  • Can democracies be at war with one another?
  • Does the democratic rule in a country provide it with an advantage at war?
  • Why wars destroy economies: examples, discussion, and counterarguments
  • How world peace would improve everyone’s quality of life
  • Peace and war today
  • Are we getting closer to world peace? Violence rates, values change, and historical comparison
  • The peaceful tomorrow: how conflicts will be resolved in the future if there are no wars
  • Redefining war: what specific characteristics today’s wars have that make them different from previous centuries’ wars
  • Why wars start today: comparing and contrasting the reasons for wars in the modern world to historical examples
  • Subtle wars: how two countries can be at war with each other without having their armies collide in the battlefield
  • Cyber peace: how cyberwars can be stopped
  • Information as a weapon: how information today lands harder blows than bombs and missiles
  • Information wars: how the abundance of information and public access to it have not, nonetheless, eliminated propaganda
  • Peace through defeating: how ISIS is different from other states, and how can its violence be stopped
  • Is world peace a popular idea? Do modern people mostly want peace or mainly wish to fight against other people and win?
  • Personal contributions to world peace
  • What can I do for attaining world peace? Personal reflection
  • Respect as a means of attaining peace: why respecting people is essential not only on the level of interpersonal communications but also on the level of social good
  • Peacefulness as an attitude: how one’s worldview can prevent conflicts
  • Why a person engages in insulting and offending: analysis of psychological causes and a personal perspective
  • A smile as an agent of peace: how simple smiling to people around you contributes to peacefulness
  • Appreciating otherness: how one can learn to value diversity and avoid xenophobia
  • Peace and love: how the two are inherently interconnected in everyone’s life
  • A micro-level peacemaker: my experiences of resolving conflicts and bringing peace
  • Forgiveness for the sake of peace: does forgiving other people contribute to peaceful coexistence or promote further conflicts?
  • Noble lies: is it acceptable for a person to lie to avoid conflicts and preserve peace?
  • What should a victim do? Violent and non-violent responses to violence
  • Standing up for the weak : is it always right to take the side of the weakest?
  • Self-defense, overwhelming emotions, and witnessing horrible violence: could I ever shoot another person?
  • Are there “fair” wars, and should every war be opposed?
  • Protecting peace: could I take up arms to prevent a devastating war?
  • Reporting violence: would I participate in sending a criminal to prison?
  • The acceptability of violence against perpetrators: personal opinion
  • Nonviolent individual resistance to injustice
  • Peace is worth it: why I think wars are never justified
  • How I sustain peace in my everyday life

Learn more on this topic:

  • If I Could Change the World Essay: Examples and Writing Guide
  • Ending the Essay: Conclusions
  • Choosing and Narrowing a Topic to Write About
  • Introduction to Research
  • How the U.S. Can Help Humanity Achieve World Peace
  • Ten Steps to World Peace
  • How World Peace is Possible
  • World Peace Books and Articles
  • World Peace and Nonviolence
  • The Leader of World Peace Essay
  • UNO and World Peace Essay
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A very, very good paragraph. thanks

Peace and conflict studies actually is good field because is dealing on how to manage the conflict among the two state or country.

Keep it up. Our world earnestly needs peace

A very, very good paragraph.

CbseAcademic.in

Essay on Peace 500+ Words

Peace is a simple word, but it holds immeasurable significance in our lives and in the world. It’s a state of harmony and tranquility, where there is no violence or conflict. In this essay, we will explore the importance of peace, its profound impact on individuals and societies, and why it is a goal worth pursuing.

Thesis Statement : Peace is the foundation of a harmonious world, where people live free from fear and violence, and where cooperation and understanding prevail.

The Meaning of Peace

Before we dive into the importance of peace, let’s understand what it means. Peace is not just the absence of war; it’s a state of well-being where individuals and communities coexist in harmony. It’s about respecting differences, resolving conflicts peacefully, and promoting cooperation.

The Individual Impact of Peace

Peace has a significant impact on individuals:

a. Mental Well-being : In a peaceful environment, people experience less stress and anxiety, leading to better mental health.

b. Physical Health : Reduced violence and conflict contribute to better physical health and longer life spans.

c. Education : Peaceful societies tend to invest more in education, leading to better opportunities for personal growth and development.

Peace and Relationships

Peace is vital for building strong and lasting relationships:

a. Family : Peaceful homes are nurturing environments where love and understanding thrive. It’s a place where children can grow up feeling safe and loved.

b. Friendships : In peaceful friendships, trust is the foundation. Friends can rely on each other, and conflicts are resolved through communication, not confrontation.

c. Global Relationships : On a global scale, peaceful countries can cooperate, trade, and work together to address common challenges like climate change and poverty.

Peace in Society

Peace also plays a crucial role in societies:

a. Economic Prosperity : Peaceful nations tend to have stable economies. When there’s less conflict, businesses can thrive, creating jobs and prosperity.

b. Political Stability : Peace is essential for political stability. When there is less violence, people can participate in democratic processes without fear.

c. Safety : In peaceful societies, people can go about their daily lives without fear of violence or crime.

The Price of Conflict

Understanding the importance of peace is easier when we consider the consequences of conflict:

a. Loss of Life : Wars and conflicts lead to the loss of countless lives, leaving behind grieving families and communities.

b. Destruction : Conflict destroys homes, infrastructure, and economies, making it challenging for communities to recover.

c. Refugees : Conflicts often create refugees who must flee their homes in search of safety and shelter.

The Role of Peacebuilders

Peace does not happen on its own; it requires dedicated individuals and organizations:

a. Nelson Mandela : The late Nelson Mandela is an iconic peacebuilder who worked tirelessly to end apartheid in South Africa through nonviolent means.

b. United Nations : The United Nations is an organization that promotes peace and security worldwide. It mediates conflicts, provides humanitarian aid, and fosters cooperation among nations.

Everyday Acts of Peace

Peace is not just for world leaders and organizations; everyone can contribute to peace:

a. Conflict Resolution : We can learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully by talking, listening, and finding compromises.

b. Kindness : Acts of kindness, like helping someone in need or being friendly to a new classmate, promote peace on a small scale.

c. Tolerance : We can embrace our differences and treat everyone with respect, regardless of their background.

Challenges to Peace

While peace is a noble goal, it faces challenges:

a. Misunderstanding : Misunderstandings can lead to conflicts. To overcome this, we need to improve communication and empathy.

b. Inequality : Social and economic inequality can lead to unrest and conflicts. Addressing inequality is a crucial step towards peace.

The Path Forward

Achieving and maintaining peace requires effort and commitment:

a. Education : Educating ourselves and others about the importance of peace is the first step.

b. Conflict Resolution : Learning how to resolve conflicts peacefully is a valuable skill that we can all acquire.

c. Empathy : Developing empathy for others can help us understand their perspectives and reduce conflict.

Conclusion of Essay on Peace

In conclusion, peace is not just a distant dream; it’s an attainable goal that benefits individuals, communities, and the world. It’s the key to better mental and physical health, stronger relationships, and prosperous societies. While challenges to peace exist, we can overcome them through education, empathy, and a commitment to resolving conflicts peacefully. Let us all work together to build a world where peace prevails, where differences are celebrated, and where cooperation and understanding lead us to a brighter and harmonious future. Peace is not just a wish; it’s a journey we can all embark upon.

Also Check: List of 500+ Topics for Writing Essay

December 2, 2021

Peace Is More Than War’s Absence, and New Research Explains How to Build It

A new project measures ways to promote positive social relations among groups

By Peter T. Coleman , Allegra Chen-Carrel & Vincent Hans Michael Stueber

Closeup of two people shaking hands

PeopleImages/Getty Images

Today, the misery of war is all too striking in places such as Syria, Yemen, Tigray, Myanmar and Ukraine. It can come as a surprise to learn that there are scores of sustainably peaceful societies around the world, ranging from indigenous people in the Xingu River Basin in Brazil to countries in the European Union. Learning from these societies, and identifying key drivers of harmony, is a vital process that can help promote world peace.

Unfortunately, our current ability to find these peaceful mechanisms is woefully inadequate. The Global Peace Index (GPI) and its complement the Positive Peace Index (PPI) rank 163 nations annually and are currently the leading measures of peacefulness. The GPI, launched in 2007 by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), was designed to measure negative peace , or the absence of violence, destructive conflict, and war. But peace is more than not fighting. The PPI, launched in 2009, was supposed to recognize this and track positive peace , or the promotion of peacefulness through positive interactions like civility, cooperation and care.

Yet the PPI still has many serious drawbacks. To begin with, it continues to emphasize negative peace, despite its name. The components of the PPI were selected and are weighted based on existing national indicators that showed the “strongest correlation with the GPI,” suggesting they are in effect mostly an extension of the GPI. For example, the PPI currently includes measures of factors such as group grievances, dissemination of false information, hostility to foreigners, and bribes.

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The index also lacks an empirical understanding of positive peace. The PPI report claims that it focuses on “positive aspects that create the conditions for a society to flourish.” However, there is little indication of how these aspects were derived (other than their relationships with the GPI). For example, access to the internet is currently a heavily weighted indicator in the PPI. But peace existed long before the internet, so is the number of people who can go online really a valid measure of harmony?

The PPI has a strong probusiness bias, too. Its 2021 report posits that positive peace “is a cross-cutting facilitator of progress, making it easier for businesses to sell.” A prior analysis of the PPI found that almost half the indicators were directly related to the idea of a “Peace Industry,” with less of a focus on factors found to be central to positive peace such as gender inclusiveness, equity and harmony between identity groups.

A big problem is that the index is limited to a top-down, national-level approach. The PPI’s reliance on national-level metrics masks critical differences in community-level peacefulness within nations, and these provide a much more nuanced picture of societal peace . Aggregating peace data at the national level, such as focusing on overall levels of inequality rather than on disparities along specific group divides, can hide negative repercussions of the status quo for minority communities.

To fix these deficiencies, we and our colleagues have been developing an alternative approach under the umbrella of the Sustaining Peace Project . Our effort has various components , and these can provide a way to solve the problems in the current indices. Here are some of the elements:

Evidence-based factors that measure positive and negative peace. The peace project began with a comprehensive review of the empirical studies on peaceful societies, which resulted in identifying 72 variables associated with sustaining peace. Next, we conducted an analysis of ethnographic and case study data comparing “peace systems,” or clusters of societies that maintain peace with one another, with nonpeace systems. This allowed us to identify and measure a set of eight core drivers of peace. These include the prevalence of an overarching social identity among neighboring groups and societies; their interconnections such as through trade or intermarriage; the degree to which they are interdependent upon one another in terms of ecological, economic or security concerns; the extent to which their norms and core values support peace or war; the role that rituals, symbols and ceremonies play in either uniting or dividing societies; the degree to which superordinate institutions exist that span neighboring communities; whether intergroup mechanisms for conflict management and resolution exist; and the presence of political leadership for peace versus war.

A core theory of sustaining peace . We have also worked with a broad group of peace, conflict and sustainability scholars to conceptualize how these many variables operate as a complex system by mapping their relationships in a causal loop diagram and then mathematically modeling their core dynamics This has allowed us to gain a comprehensive understanding of how different constellations of factors can combine to affect the probabilities of sustaining peace.

Bottom-up and top-down assessments . Currently, the Sustaining Peace Project is applying techniques such as natural language processing and machine learning to study markers of peace and conflict speech in the news media. Our preliminary research suggests that linguistic features may be able to distinguish between more and less peaceful societies. These methods offer the potential for new metrics that can be used for more granular analyses than national surveys.

We have also been working with local researchers from peaceful societies to conduct interviews and focus groups to better understand the in situ dynamics they believe contribute to sustaining peace in their communities. For example in Mauritius , a highly multiethnic society that is today one of the most peaceful nations in Africa, we learned of the particular importance of factors like formally addressing legacies of slavery and indentured servitude, taboos against proselytizing outsiders about one’s religion, and conscious efforts by journalists to avoid divisive and inflammatory language in their reporting.

Today, global indices drive funding and program decisions that impact countless lives, making it critical to accurately measure what contributes to socially just, safe and thriving societies. These indices are widely reported in news outlets around the globe, and heads of state often reference them for their own purposes. For example, in 2017 , Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, though he and his country were mired in corruption allegations, referenced his country’s positive increase on the GPI by stating, “Receiving such high praise from an institute that once named this country the most violent in the world is extremely significant.” Although a 2019 report on funding for peace-related projects shows an encouraging shift towards supporting positive peace and building resilient societies, many of these projects are really more about preventing harm, such as grants for bolstering national security and enhancing the rule of law.

The Sustaining Peace Project, in contrast, includes metrics for both positive and negative peace, is enhanced by local community expertise, and is conceptually coherent and based on empirical findings. It encourages policy makers and researchers to refocus attention and resources on initiatives that actually promote harmony, social health and positive reciprocity between groups. It moves away from indices that rank entire countries and instead focuses on identifying factors that, through their interaction, bolster or reduce the likelihood of sustaining peace. It is a holistic perspective.  

Tracking peacefulness across the globe is a highly challenging endeavor. But there is great potential in cooperation between peaceful communities, researchers and policy makers to produce better methods and metrics. Measuring peace is simply too important to get only half-right. 

United States Institute of Peace

National high school essay contest.

USIP partners with the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) on the annual National High School Essay Contest. The contest each year engages high school students in learning and writing about issues of peace and conflict, encouraging appreciation for diplomacy’s role in building partnerships that can advance peacebuilding and protect national security. 

Wilson King Photo

The winner of the contest receives a $2,500 cash prize, an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to meet U.S. Department of State and USIP leadership, and a full-tuition paid voyage with Semester at Sea upon the student’s enrollment at an accredited university. The runner-up receives a $1,250 cash prize and a full scholarship to participate in the International Diplomacy Program of the National Student Leadership Conference. 

2023 National High School Essay Contest

The American Foreign Service Association’s national high school essay contest completed its twenty-third year with over 400 submissions from 44 states. Three randomized rounds of judging produced this year’s winner, Justin Ahn, a junior from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. In his essay, “Mending Bridges: U.S.-Vietnam Reconciliation from 1995 to Today,” Ahn focuses on the successful reconciliation efforts by the Foreign Service in transforming U.S.-Vietnam relations from post-war tension to close economic and strategic partnership.

Ahn will travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with a member of the Department of State’s leadership and receive a full tuition scholarship to an educational voyage with Semester at Sea.

Niccolo Duina was this year’s runner-up. He is currently a junior at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas. Duina will be attending the international diplomacy program of the National Student Leadership Conference this summer.

There were eight honorable mentions:

  • Santiago Castro-Luna – Chevy Chase, Maryland
  • Dante Chittenden – Grimes, Iowa 
  • Merle Hezel – Denver, Colorado
  • Adarsh Khullar – Villa Hills, Kentucky
  • Nicholas Nall – Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Ashwin Telang – West Windsor, New Jersey
  • Himani Yarlagadda – Northville, Michigan 
  • Sophia Zhang – San Jose, California

Congratulations! We thank all students and teachers who took the time to research and become globally engaged citizens who care about diplomacy, development and peacebuilding.

2023 National High School Essay Contest Topic

In 2024, the U.S. Foreign Service will celebrate its 100th birthday. The Foreign Service is an important element of the American approach to peacebuilding around the world. Over the last century, U.S. diplomats have been involved in some of the most significant events in history — making decisions on war and peace, responding to natural disasters and pandemics, facilitating major treaties, and more.

As AFSA looks back on their century-long history, we invite you to do the same. This year, students are asked to explore a topic that touches upon this important history and sheds light on how vital it is for America to have a robust professional corps focused on diplomacy, development and peace in the national interest.

In your essay, you will select a country or region in which the U.S. Foreign Service has been involved in at any point since 1924 and describe — in 1,500 words or less — how the Foreign Service was successful or unsuccessful in advancing American foreign policy goals, including promoting peace, in this country/region and propose ways in which it might continue to improve those goals in the coming years.

Contest deadline: April 3, 2023

Download the study guide for the 2023 National High School Essay Contest. This study guide provides students with a basic introduction to the topic and some additional context that can assist them in answering the question. It includes the essay question, prizes and rules for the contest; an introduction to diplomacy and peacebuilding; key terms; topics and areas students might explore; and a list of other useful resources.

Learn more about the contest rules and how to submit your essay on the American Foreign Service Association’s contest webpage .

2022 National High School Essay Contest

Katherine Lam, a freshman from University High School in Tucson, Arizona, is the 2022 National High School Essay Contest winner. In her essay, “Competition and Coaction in Ethiopia: U.S. and Chinese Partnerships for International Stabilization,” Lam focuses on how the Foreign Service has partnered with other U.S. government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and — most notably — China to promote peace and development in Ethiopia. Lam will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with a member of the U.S. Department of State’s leadership and gain full tuition for an educational voyage with Semester at Sea.

Olivia Paulsen was this year’s runner-up. She is a currently a junior receiving a home-schooled education in Concord, Massachusetts. Paulsen will be attending the international diplomacy program of the National Student Leadership Conference this summer.

The 2022 honorable mentions were: Josh Diaz (Little Rock, AR); Grace Hartman (Bethlehem, PA); Elena Higuchi (Irvine, CA); Ovea Kaushik (Oklahoma City, OK); Evan Lindemann (Palm Desert, CA); Percival Liu (Tokyo, Japan); Alexander Richter (San Jose, CA); and Gavin Sun (Woodbury, MN).

USIP congratulates all the winners of the 2022 National High School Essay Contest.

Partnerships for Peace in a Multipolar Era

The current multipolar era poses challenges for U.S. foreign policy but also provides new opportunities for partnership across world powers—including emerging great powers like China and Russia—to build peace in conflict-affected countries. Describe a current situation where American diplomats and peacebuilders are working with other world powers, as well as local and/or regional actors, in a conflict-affected country to champion democracy, promote human rights, and/or resolve violent conflict.    A successful essay will lay out the strategies and tactics U.S. Foreign Service Officers and American peacebuilders are employing to build successful partnerships with other world and regional powers and with local actors in the chosen current situation.  The essay will also describe specific ways that these partnerships are helping to promote stability and build peace.

Contest deadline: April 4, 2022

Download the study guide for the 2022 National High School Essay Contest. This study guide provides students with a basic introduction to the topic and some additional context that can assist them in answering the question. It includes the essay question, prizes, and rules for the contest; an introduction to diplomacy and peacebuilding; key terms; topics and areas students might explore; and a list of other useful resources.

Learn more about the contest rules and how to submit your essay on the American Foreign Service Association’s contest webpage.  

2021 National High School Essay Contest

Mariam Parray, a sophomore from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the 2021 National High School Essay Contest winner. In her essay, “Diplomats and Peacebuilders in Tunisia: Paving the Path to Democracy,” Ms. Parray focuses on how the Foreign Service partnered with other U.S. government agencies and NGOs to effect a peaceful democratic transition in Tunisia. She emphasizes the importance of multifaceted approaches as well as the importance of bringing marginalized groups into the fold. Mariam will travel to Washington to meet with a member of the Department of State’s leadership and will also gain a full tuition to an educational voyage with Semester at Sea. Harrison McCarty was this year’s runner-up. Coincidentally, he is also a sophomore from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas. Harrison will be attending the international diplomacy program of the National Student Leadership Conference this summer. The 2021 honorable mentions were: Louisa Eaton (Wellesley, MA); Samuel Goldston (Brooklyn, NY); Lucy King (Bainbridge Island, WA); Haan Jun Lee (Jakarta, Indonesia); Khaled Maalouf (Beirut, Lebanon); Madeleine Shaw (Bloomington, IN); Allison Srp (Austin, MN); and Daniel Zhang (Cortland, NY).

USIP congratulates all the winners of the 2021 National High School Essay Contest. 

Diplomats and Peacebuilders: Powerful Partners

What characteristics lead to a successful effort by diplomats and peacebuilders to mediate or prevent violent conflict? The United States Foreign Service—often referred to as America’s first line of defense—works to prevent conflict from breaking out abroad and threats from coming to our shores. Peacebuilders work on the ground to create the conditions for peace and resolve conflicts where they are most needed. 

Successful essays will identify, in no more than 1,250 words, a situation where diplomats worked on a peacebuilding initiative with partners from the country/region in question, nongovernmental organizations, and other parts of the U.S. government, and then go on to analyze what characteristics and approaches made the enterprise a success.  

Contest deadline: April 5, 2021

Download the study guide for the 2021 National High School Essay Contest. This study guide provides students with a basic introduction to the topic and some additional context that can assist them in answering the question. It includes key terms in conflict management and peacebuilding and examples of peacebuilding initiatives, with reflection questions for independent learners to dig more deeply or for teachers to encourage class reflection and discussion. We hope this study guide will be a useful resource for educators and students participating in this contest, and for educators who want their students to learn more about this year’s contest topic.

2020 National High School Essay Contest

Jonas Lorincz, a junior from Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville, MD, is the 2020 National High School Essay Contest winner. In his essay, “Verification, Mediation, and Peacebuilding: The Many Roles of the U.S. Foreign Service in Kosovo,” Mr. Lorincz focused on the importance of interagency cooperation in mediating the crisis in Kosovo – primarily looking into how diplomats and other civilian agencies engaged in peacebuilding throughout the conflict.

Claire Burke was this year’s runner-up. She is a junior at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, KS. 

The 2020 honorable mentions were: Grace Cifuentes (Concord, CA), Grace Lannigan (Easton, CT), Seryung Park (Tenafly, NJ), Vynateya Purimetla (Troy, MI), David Richman (Norfolk, VA), Madeleine Shaw (Bloomington, IN), Sara Smith (Fargo, ND), and Jack Viscuso (Northport, NY).  USIP congratulates all the winners of the 2020 National High School Essay Contest. 

2020 National High School Essay Contest Topic

Why Diplomacy and Peacebuilding Matter

How do members of the Foreign Service work with other civilian parts of the U.S. Government to promote peace, national security and economic prosperity?

Qualified essays focused on a specific challenge to U.S. peace and prosperity and included one example of the work of the Foreign Service and one or more examples of collaboration between America’s diplomats and other civilian (i.e. non-military) U.S. Government agencies or organizations.

2019 National High School Essay Contest

In its 21st year, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)’s National High School Essay Contest encouraged students to think about how and why the United States engages globally to build peace, and about the role that the Foreign Service plays in advancing U.S. national security and economic prosperity.

For the second year in a row, the National High School Essay Contest focused on an important aspect of operating in countries affected by or vulnerable to violent conflict: effective coordination of the many different foreign policy tools the United States has at its disposal. Whether you were addressing the prompt for a second year or new to the contest, the contest will have challenged you to expand your understanding of the role of the Foreign Service and other actors in foreign policy, identify case studies, and provide a sophisticated analysis in a concise manner.

The essay prompt and a helpful study guide are included below; you can find out more information about the rules and how to submit by checking out AFSA’s essay contest page .

2019 Essay Question

The United States has many tools to advance and defend its foreign policy and national security interests around the world—from diplomatic approaches pursued by members of the Foreign Service, to the range of options available to the U.S. military. In countries affected by or vulnerable to violent conflict, peacebuilding tools are important additions to the national security toolkit.

In such complex environments, cooperation across agencies and approaches is challenging, but it can also blend knowledge and skills in ways that strengthen the overall effort to establish a lasting peace. On the other hand, lack of coordination can lead to duplication of effort, inefficient use of limited resources and unintended consequences.

In a 1,000-1,250-word essay, identify two cases—one you deem successful and one you deem unsuccessful—where the U.S. pursued an integrated approach to build peace in a conflict-affected country. Analyze and compare these two cases, addressing the following questions:

  • What relative strengths did members of the Foreign Service and military actors bring to the table? What peacebuilding tools were employed? Ultimately, what worked or did not work in each case?
  • How was each situation relevant to U.S. national security interests?
  • What lessons may be drawn from these experiences for the pursuit of U.S. foreign policy more broadly?

Download the study guide for the 2019 AFSA National High School Essay Contest

2018 National High School Essay Contest

Jennifer John from Redwood City, CA is the 2018 National High School Essay Contest winner, surpassing close to 1,000 other submissions. Her essay examined to what extent U.S. interagency efforts in Iraq and Bosnia were successful in building peace. Aislinn Niimi from Matthews, NC was the runner up.

The 2018 honorable mentions were: Alex, DiCenso (North Kingstown, RI),Alexandra Soo (Franklin, MI), Caroline Bellamy (Little Rock AR), Colin LeFerve (Indianapolis, IN), Elizabeth Kam (Burlingham, CA), Emma Singh (Tenafly NJ), Emma Chambers (Little Rock AR),  Francesca Ciampa (Brooksville, ME), Greta Bunce (Franktown, VA), Isaac Che (Mount Vernon OH), Isabel Davis (Elk River MN), Katrina Espinoza (Watsonvile, CA), Molly Ehrig (Bethlehem, PA), Payton McGoldrick (Bristow, VA), Rachel Russell (Cabin John, MD), Sarah Chapman (Tucson, AZ), Shalia Lothe (Glen Allen VA), Sohun Modha (San Jose CA), Suhan Kacholia (Chandler, AZ), Supriya Sharma (Brewster, NY), Sydney Adams (Fort Wayne, IN), Tatum Smith (Little Rock AR), and William Milne (Fort Wayne, IN).  

2017 National High School Essay Contest

Nicholas Deparle, winner of the 2017 AFSA National High School Essay Contest, comes from Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC. A rising senior at the time, Mr. Deparle covers the Internally Displaced Persons crisis in Iraq and potential ideas to help resolve the issue.  Read his winning essay here . Mr. Manuel Feigl, a graduate of Brashier Middle College Charter High School in Simpsonville, SC took second place.

This year there were twenty honorable mentions: Mohammed Abuelem ( Little Rock, Ark.), Lucas Aguayo-Garber (Worcester, Mass.), Rahul Ajmera (East Williston, N.Y.), Taylor Gregory (Lolo, Mont.), Rachel Hildebrand (Sunnyvale, Calif.), Ryan Hulbert (Midland Park, N.J.), India Kirssin (Mason, Ohio), Vaibhav Mangipudy (Plainsboro, N.J.), William Marsh (Pittsburgh, Penn.), Zahra Nasser (Chicago, Ill.), Elizabeth Nemec (Milford, N.J.), David Oks (Ardsley, N.Y.), Max Pumilia (Greenwood Village, Colo.), Nikhil Ramaswamy (Plano, Texas), Aditya Sivakumar (Beaverton, Ore.), Donovan Stuard (Bethlehem, Penn.), Rachel Tanczos (Danielsville, Penn.), Isabel Ting (San Ramon, Calif.), Kimberley Tran (Clayton, Mo.), and Chenwei Wang (Walnut, Calif.).

2017 Essay Contest Topic

According to the United Nations, 65 million people worldwide have left their homes to seek safety elsewhere due to violence, conflict, persecution, or human rights violations. The majority of these people are refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Imagine you are a member of the U.S. Foreign Service —– a diplomat working to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the United States abroad – and are now assigned to the U.S. embassy in one of these four countries.

  • Turkey (Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs)
  • Kenya (Bureau of African Affairs)
  • Afghanistan (Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs)
  • Iraq (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs)

Your task is to provide recommendations to address the refugee/IDP crisis facing the country in which you are now posted. Using the resources available to you as a member of the Foreign Service, write a memo to your Ambassador outlining how the United States might help address the current unprecedented levels of displacement. You may choose to address issues related to the causes of refugee crisis, or to focus on the humanitarian crisis in your host country.

A qualifying memo will be 1,000-1,250 words and will answer the following questions:

  • How does the crisis challenge U.S. interests in the country you are posted and more broadly?
  • Specifically outline the steps you propose the U.S. should take to tackle the roots or the consequences of the crisis, and explain how it would help solve the issue or issues you are examining. How will your efforts help build peace or enhance stability?
  • How do you propose, from your embassy/post of assignment, to foster U.S. government interagency cooperation and cooperation with the host-country government to address these issues?  Among U.S. government agencies, consider U.S. Agency for International Development, the Foreign Commercial Service and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Memo Template

TO: Ambassador ______________________

FROM: Only use your first name here

RE: Think of this as your title, make sure to include the country you are writing about

Here you want to lay out the problem, define criteria by which you will be deciding the best steps the U.S. could take, and include a short sentence or two on your final recommendation. Embassy leadership is very busy and reads many memos a day —– they should be able to get the general ““gist”” of your ideas by reading this section.

Background:

This section should provide any background information about the crisis or conflict relevant to your proposed policy. Here, you should mention why the issue is important to U.S. interests, especially peace and security.

Proposed Steps:

This is where you outline your proposed policy. Be specific in describing how the U.S. might address this issue and how these steps can contribute to peace and security. Include which organizations you propose partnering with and why.

Recommendation:

This is where you write your final recommendations for embassy leadership. Think of this as a closing paragraph.

Companion Guide for the 2017 National High School Essay Contest

It is no easy task to jump into the role of a diplomat, especially when confronted by such an urgent crisis. USIP, in consultation with AFSA, developed a guide to provide a basic introduction to the topic and some additional context that can assist you in answering the question, while still challenging you to develop your own unique response. As such, this guide should be used as a starting point to your own research and as you ultimately prepare a compelling memo outlining recommendations the U.S. government should follow to respond to the refugee and IDP crisis.

In the guide you will find: insights into the role of the Foreign Service; country, organization, and key-term briefs to provide a foundational understanding; and a list of other useful resources. Download the Companion Guide for the 2017 National High School Essay Contest (.pdf).

2016 National High School Essay Contest

USIP first partnered with AFSA for the 2016 contest and was pleased to welcome winner Dylan Borne to Washington in August. His paper describes his role as an economic officer in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. He writes about promoting education for girls in Afghanistan through on-line courses and dispersal of laptops. Read his winning essay (.pdf).

Unescocampus_peace

How to build peace? A dialogue between students and experts on the International Peace Day

Students from 6 classes around the world met with professionals working for peace to understand their work and reflect on how everyone can get involved in peacebuilding. Leading the conversation, were reunited Kuany Kiir Kuany , Project Officer for UNESCO’s Global Citizenship and Peace Education section, Leonie Evers , Project Officer in the Emergencies Entity of UNESCO’s Culture Sector et Saurea Didry Stancioff , West Africa Program Manager for Promediation , a non-governmental and apolitical organization that facilitates mediation and resolution of armed conflicts. 

Each expert talked about their background and their daily life at work reminding us that each and every one of us, at every level, can act in favor of peace.  

Saurea Didry Stancioff is in charge of planning and leading activities in Niger, Ghana, Benin and Ivory Coast, as well as monitoring and coordinating all Promediation programs in West Africa. She explains the role of mediation, starting strong by underlying that every conflict, whether in a school, family or armed setting, begins in the same way.

Sometimes the different parties understand each other but still disagree. When the disagreement lasts and one shuts down the communication, the problem starts. It can get to massive scale attacks, and the communication won't appear again.

To have mediation, both parties need to feel safe and to trust the process. The mediator's role is to reformulate the needs of each party in the conflict, so that the process is based first and foremost on understanding. In the end, the agreement needs to be neutral and acceptable for both, but the process can be long.

Before joining UNESCO headquarters, Kuany Kiir Kuany was in charge of the Peace Education Program at the UNESCO office in Iraq , which he joined after a long stay at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development in India . He has designed and implemented more than 10 projects at the intersection of education and peace, that have benefited over 10,000 young leaders and educational actors around the world. For him, institutions, the justice system, the economy and schools must work together to build peace. Speaking to young people, he reminded them that education plays a major role, and that schools must encourage critical thinking, promote inclusion and guarantee a good level of literacy.

Building peace is not a conclusion, it's a process.

Léonie Evers joined UNESCO's emergency unit after spending three years in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali with the United Nations Mine Action Service . Prior to this, she worked for over five years at UNESCO as coordinator for emergencies linked to armed conflict. Today, her work involves integrating culture into the policies and operations of the humanitarian, security, peace-building and technical support sectors, coordinating emergency preparedness and response.

Behind any pile of stone, they are people targeted by a conflict. 

For her, peace and culture are irrevocably linked because culture is part of our identity, traditions and soul. When a place is rebuilt after a conflict, it strengthens the victims and helps them to come together around a common heritage. At school, and elsewhere, we need to remain open and avoid any kind of stereotypes. 

The 148 participants, students from The Senior High School of Moudros, Lemnos Island in Greece , The Wesley High School Oukpo at Benue in Nigeria , The Alpha School at Hanoi in Vietnam , The Kohinoor International School at Hoshiarpur in India , The Oporto Internacional School, in Porto, Portugal and from the Arsakeio Junior High School of Psychiko at Athens, Greece , were able to continue discussions in their classrooms with their teachers, thanks to the resource pack provided by the UNESCO Campus Team. 

This event has been possible thanks to the collaboration of 6C Conseil and the support of TECH4ALL. 

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Students take a picture in the classroom before resuming their studies. Côte d'Ivoire, December 2015 Credits: GPE/Carine Durand

This is the twelfth blog post in a series of collaborations between the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)

The International Day of Peace – a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples – is observed around the world on 21 September. The theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” Education is a core element of peace.

As the former UN Secretary General said: “Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another name."

Nowadays, violent conflicts pose the greatest development challenges in the world. Children and education systems are often on the front line of these violent conflicts. The rise in violent extremism and radicalization represent a significant threat to all of us. Members of radical groups adopt increasingly extreme political, economic, social, cultural, and religious ideologies and use undemocratic and violent means to achieve their objectives. African countries also face the challenge of objectively addressing deeply rooted structural causes of conflicts emanating from historical injustices, marginalization and corruption.

Can education rise to the challenge?

Education imparts knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that are important for the social, economic and political development for any country. This role is well articulated in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.

Moreover, the objective of SDG 4.7 is to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

Education: a double-edged sword

While education is central to peacebuilding it is important to note that it has two facets. There is evidence to the view that when equitably available, of good quality, relevant and conflict sensitive, education can help promote peace and provide safe environments. On the other hand, when its delivery is characterized with exclusion and inequity, it can exacerbate conflict. It is for this reason that deliberate effort need to be made to put in place necessary policies and strategies to maximize the positive effects of education on peace.

The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2016 - 2025) has embraced a paradigm shift in the policies and planning of education so as to adopt “the new approaches” desirable for promoting peace in the continent.                                  

Education has to be sensitive to context, including conflict and disaster, and has to pay attention to disparities, including equity.

What kind of education can respond to this challenge?

One of the key interventions in promoting peace through education is development of conflict-sensitive education policies and plans. This entails conducting conflict analysis on education systems, structures and delivery to identify the drivers of conflict and violence, and the dynamics therein leading to development of concrete and realistic intervention that leverage on the capacity for peace through education.

There should be a paradigm shift towards programs that encourage maximum realization of an individual’s potential and optimal development of human capital.

Unless young people’s skills are developed for work, they will be ultimately excluded from active participation in their societies.

Current shifts in the continent that enhance peace and global citizenship include adopting curriculum models that provide for flexible pathways to develop all learners’ abilities and talents; improve efficiency in provision of education and reduce wastage at all levels.

There is need to shift from content-based to competency-based, from more summative assessments and less formative assessments. There is also need to shift focus from content-based teaching and learning resources to activity-based, interactive workbooks.

It is imperative to adopt transformative pedagogy, such as dialogic, active and inquiry-based learning and engaged learning based on context and learners’ interests. The learner is at the center of the learning process where he/she is able to explore, dialogue, discover new knowledge, reflect and is spurred into action.

The curriculum and education services should be designed in such a way that they are culturally and economically relevant to local contexts, with a special focus on minorities, nomadic and other mobile communities, while at the same time developing alternative education opportunities for marginalized and at-risk adolescents and youth.

  • Lack of capacity in the ministries of education to translate the policies and commitments into actions and form desirable partnerships at the national and school level.
  • Inadequate investment in education to match the demands of the 21 st century.
  • Teachers’ lack of capacity to deliver education using transformative pedagogy.
  • Inadequate, poorly paid and unmotivated teaching force.

Call to action

We call on African governments to:

  • Review and enhance education curriculum to ensure that it is sensitive to context, including conflict and disaster, and pays attention to disparities, including equity.
  • Develop conflict-sensitive education policies and adapt pedagogy.
  • Address issues related to structural violence, marginalization, and social exclusion. 

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Peace education

Peace education promotes the knowledge, skills and attitudes to help people prevent conflict occurring, resolve conflicts peacefully, or create conditions for peace.

Peace education activities promote the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help people either to prevent the occurrence of conflict, resolve conflicts peacefully, or create social conditions conducive to peace.

Core values of nonviolence and social justice are central to peace education. Nonviolence is manifested through values such as respect for human rights, freedom and trust. Social justice is realised by principles of equality, responsibility, and solidarity.

In order to achieve these ideals, peace education programmes across the world address a wide range of themes.  These include nonviolence, conflict resolution techniques, democracy, disarmament, gender equality, human rights, environmental responsibility, history, communication skills, coexistence, and international understanding and tolerance of diversity.

Peace education can be delivered to people of all ages, in both formal and informal settings. Programmes exist at local, national, and international levels, and in times of peace, conflict, and post-conflict.

To create public dialogue different factions of society are often brought together in peace education programmes – these typically include civil society groups, schools, tribal leaders and the media. Yet due to the many areas covered by peace education, initiatives are primarily determined by culture and context, as well as by the projects’ scopes and objectives.

Peace education and peacebuilding are therefore intrinsically linked. The UN’s actions for peacebuilding include education as one of its principle components. For peacebuilding initiatives to remain sustainable it is vital that attitudes towards war and violence are transformed and translated into long-term behavioural change which seek alternative solutions to armed conflict.

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importance of peace essay for students

Why Peace Education is Important for Youth

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In a world where acts of violence fill our newsfeeds and there is a prevalence of pain and hurt around us, peace takes root in the form of education. Peace education is important for people of all ages, but when is the most effective time to engage in peace education by learning about transformative conflict resolution? As children grow, they form their own unique worldview and they learn how to interact with the people around them. Learning about peace is a wonderful opportunity for children to build peaceful perspectives of the world around them. If we can equip kids with the skills that they need to be human beings who build healthy relationships and solve problems in ways that value the inherent dignity of others, our world will benefit now and in the future.

I believe it is important to normalize healthy conflict resolution and integrate it into mainstream learning. In my work with TREE, I have observed firsthand that peace education can be an essential part of education because of the immense impact it has on students in their classroom and in the communities around them. When we teach youth the value of peace along with the skills they need to be healthy conflict resolvers, we equip the next generation with the tools they need to be a society that values relationship over competition and well-being over accomplishment . When these values are shared, some voice concern that society is becoming soft and unmotivated to succeed, but when we work with those around us to collaborate, we can achieve greater things while still maintaining our individual and collective health. Peace education can give youth concrete skills to use in group work and in conversation with those around them so that they are collaborators instead of competitors in school and beyond.

Peace education is important for everyone, but particularly for children who are still building their identity and the values they hold. When we teach children to be peaceful, we allowing them to be a positive role model for adults around them. When this happens, the impact creates a ripple effect in their communities , and the beauty of the relational nature of peace education is exposed. For me, the idea of a ripple effect is what drives the passion behind teaching conflict resolution skills to youth through peace education.

Working for The Ripple Effect Education as a facilitator has encouraged me in my passion for teaching peace to youth. Let’s work towards a more peaceful world by educating our kids in the ways of peace and creating a world where violence is not the automatic reaction to conflict. There is hope for conflict to be transformative in the future, and the future starts with the youth of today. Peace education for youth is a key to a brighter future for all.

Interested in bringing peace education to your classroom or community? Check out our peace programs !

Abby Lobert

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Reflections on Peace Education

Alicia Cabezudo International Association of Educators for Peace

importance of peace essay for students

Education for peace and respect for human rights is particularly important in this period, if we compare the values this education promotes with the daily violence, the horrors of war and the gradual destruction of values such as solidarity, cooperation and respect for others: all of them problems that assault us every day.

Indiscriminate persecution, massacres and ethnic cleansing are difficult to explain when our shocked and surprised students ask us about them; perhaps they are even incomprehensible in the context of education. It is harder still to clarify these processes when the possible solution for acts such as these is, in fact, the continued bombing of cities and of a desperate civilian population.

We also come across extreme everyday situations when we analyse the inequality and injustice of our socio-economic surroundings and the brutal violence of our “ideal” modern societies… in which it is the state itself that attacks the population, where individualism and self interest are promoted and where whatever is considered “different” becomes “dangerous”. These are all wars, of a different type, but with the same ingredients of injustice, violence and destruction.

Here the responses of educators become drained of content and their explanations no longer work. The practice of building knowledge through research, reading, the analysis of information, interviews, genesis of conflicts, systematisation of what has been learnt, the development of critical thinking, etc, should lead us to rethink the educational model applied until now. This model is perhaps slightly naive, despite its apparent progressive pedagogical nature, and it is one with which educators ourselves have come to be unhappy.

I believe that Peace Education, although considered a transversal element in many educational curriculum models around the world, has in fact been conceived as a secondary matter. Something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”. A view of the curriculum which dignifies it without modifying it, without designing new alternatives for a humanitarian, ethical, civic education — something increasingly necessary in the world we live in.

Because Peace Education means developing a critical, serious and profound approach to the current situation of which we form a part and the historical epoch in which we find ourselves, an undeniable reality that does not always appear in the plans of the Ministries, of educational institutions nor of many principals and teachers.

Peace Education has been conceived as a secondary matter; something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”

“Peace is not defined only by the absence of war and conflict, it is also a dynamic concept that needs to be grasped in positive terms, such as the presence of social justice and harmony, the possibility for human beings to fully realise their potential and respect for their right to live with dignity throughout their lives. Sustainable human development is not possible without peace. And without just, equitable, ongoing planning, peace cannot be maintained.” 1

These concepts, particularly relevant in the context of the analysis we are currently trying to develop, should influence all imaginable pedagogical proposals for Peace Education, giving it a multidimensional character, able to reach into different areas.

We are witnessing today a reworking of our models and our vocabularies and we understand that there are major changes in the concept of peace, above all as it relates to the opposite term, “war”. This conceptual modification should be integrated, along with the methodology for teaching it, into the learning of teachers and students.

Indeed, after many years the idea of peace has evolved and a broader and more complex understanding of it now relates it to the concepts of fairness, justice, respect for human rights, the rights of peoples and tolerance. Alongside this process, teaching practices in Peace Education have also been modified, taking on a clear commitment to the principles of democratic participation along with the implementation of educational activities which include issues of nonviolence and conflict transformation by peaceful means, with a view to building a more compassionate, juster and fairer society.

Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective

Armed conflicts in other parts of the world now make us more open to a cognitive, systematic and up to date treatment of the miseries and cruelties of war and also to the analysis of its terrible consequences, using the multiple resources that the media allow us, bringing it closer to us. Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be tested and analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective.

The geographical and historical treatment of the subject is necessary but not sufficient. Concepts and issues such as nationalism, sovereignty and the state; the role of the UN in the world of today; the reality of different ethnicities and their complicated coexistence; intercultural dialogue; solutions and disagreements within conflicts; the situation of refugees and their terrible defencelessness before the attacks of “friends” and enemies; crime related to drugs and prostitution; the dangers of nuclear war; the arms race and the arms trade as a profitable global business are urgent and important issues.

All of these issues desperately need to be the subject of reflection, debate, research and criticism by both teachers and students in an ongoing exercise of deepening knowledge, developed both individually and collectively on the basis of obtaining information from many sources, promoting the exchange of different opinions, developing critical judgment and the respect for diversity 2 .

But even this is not enough if we isolate the international problems that distress us so much from the everyday “wars” of the society in which we live. Marginalisation, social exclusion, violence and persecution are not things that we can only find in news reports about Mexico, Colombia, Syria, Crimea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan…

An obligatory task of education is to link direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features

There are other “wars” much closer to home, right next to us. Social inequality, lack of vital resources for much of the population, unemployment and poverty create hopelessness and distrust of democratically elected governments. Authoritarian mechanisms, the control of information, crimes, delinquency and impunity are part of our political life.

In this sense, war is not so far away… and not only because of the globalisation of the arms trade or the information that we receive from the transnational media. It is a daily war to survive in terrible conditions of housing and health, of education and employment, of the insufficiency of essential public services and insecurity, with basic inherent principles of human dignity being trampled on every day in many countries and continents.

It is an obligatory task of education to link these two aspects: the direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features but are no less intense. Only through a comprehensive analysis of the roots of violence, its characteristics, forms and consequences can we make it possible to achieve a critical reflection, at the levels of both the individual and society, so as to generate possible changes that may lead towards a lasting peace in today’s world.

This is the great educational challenge for the coming years and for our pedagogical work in the field of Peace Education.Let us dare to face up to it.

1. Iglesias Díaz, Calo (2007). Educar pacificando: Una pedagogia de los conflictos , 1ª edición, Madrid, Fundación Cultura de Paz Editorial.

2 Bazán Campos, Domigo (2008). El oficio de pedagogo. Aportes para la construcción de una pràctica reflexiva en la escuela , Rosario, Argentina, Ed. Homo Sapiens.

Photography : United Nations Development Programme in Europe and CIS / CC BY / Desaturada. – Kids celebrate peace, friendship and tolerance on United Nations day –

© Generalitat de Catalunya

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The role of women in peace research, transversal politics: a practice of peace, always disobedient, neither a destructive war nor an oppressive peace, first international congress of women, la haya, 1915, materials and resources recommended by the icip, islamic state and the kurds, new heavyweight players in the middle east, news, activities and publications about the icip, interview with adilia caravaca, president of wilpf.

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Need and Importance of Peace Education

Peace education, its aim, importance and role in life.

Peace education encircles the basic principles of peace and education. Though it sounds similar, its aim is quite different from the conventional way of teaching. The writers always divide peace into two types. One is negative peace and the other one is positive peace. The concept of negative peace is the presence of war and physical violence. Positive peace means the lack of the possibility of war and social injustice.

The concept of peace education is rather vast and indeed positive. The need and importance of peace education become both unavoidable and noticeable as it aims to teach every individual to live in peace with each other. It discourages violence and promotes equality. Continue reading to understand the need and importance of peace education.

What is Peace Education?

What is Peacemaking?

What is Peacemaking?

If you are wondering what peace education is, then here your answer. Peace education is a teaching process that helps to build peace between people. It teaches people to settle their differences with words and not by using any weapon.

Education is in the second position on the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Positive Peace Index, making it one of the most significant contributors to peace. You can define peace education as an area of education that intends to teach about peace and its importance. So, it promotes tolerance, social justice and nonviolence.

Importance of Peace Education

If you know what is peace education? You might understand its intention. However, the importance of peace education comes into the picture when the concept of peace building comes into existence. The concept of peace education focuses on the global recognition of peace. It encourages building a sense of brotherhood and mutual respect. There are three ways to achieve peace: Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, and Peacebuilding. 

Peacekeeping, the first type, involves assigning police or special military forces to go to the place of battle and achieve peace with or without strength.

Peacemaking is a diplomatic process. It does not need any cooperation from military sources. All it needs is perfect communication skills to resolve the ongoing conflict. Whether it is a conflict between two countries or something internal, a good and eloquent speaker can solve the problem and keep it under control. But unfortunately, both types mentioned above take place when any violence happens.

Peacebuilding is the most fruitful way to teach peace. It makes people realise the importance of peace education. Peacebuilding develops comprehensive programmes to teach people how to interact with people and teach them to avoid aggression.

Moreover, it can be said that the need of peace education has increased in today’s time, particularly for the children who are working to build their identity.

Aim of Peace Education

There are many objectives of building peace education. Some are discussed as follows:

The first motive of peace education is to promote peace. Studying Arts gives people the proper concept of peace. Literature, painting, photography, music, dance forms, and fine arts provide ample opportunities to learn about peace education and appreciate its importance.

One of the aims and objectives of peace education is to make the students understand the national security systems. They need to understand the alternatives to war. Peace education also helps them understand international politics, the prison industrial complex, the arms race, etc.

Developing intercultural understanding is one of the most important aspects of peacebuilding. The 'us vs them' attitude has been destroying the mutual understanding and respect between countries. It had done so in the past. Promoting peace education works when everybody starts respecting other cultures and builds a clear understanding and respect for each other.

Encouraging students to build values and skills is one of the aims and objectives of peace education . It is important so that students get to live a satisfactory life.

Role of Education for Peaceful Living

Importance of Peacemaking

Importance of Peacemaking

The basic nature of peace education is to spread self-belief and peace worldwide. And knowing the aims of peace education is the key. It can shape the mind, mend it and recreate. So, here are the roles of education in maintaining peace in life.

Education builds confidence and faith. Knowing something gives people a sense of accomplishment. It helps people to voice out their thoughts and reshape their thinking process. They can promote new ideas and optimism around the world. The more students get educated, the more they become accustomed to ‘peace’. It helps them to work to maintain peace.

Education builds independent thinking. It lets them build new ideas and make perfect sense of the world. Other than following something blindly, educated minds ask questions and try to find the answer to the unknown. In the end, they become leaders to promote positivity and hope.

As we have discussed before, communication skill is important for peacemaking. By going to school, students meet different students of their age. They share opinions, work on various projects, and resolve their conflicts. That is how they build communication skills. Building the power to talk is the nature of peace education .

Now, education fulfils the most important need of a person’s life. It gives people food and helps them get rid of poverty. A malnourished, hungry person tends to become angry, and it is just a matter of time before he becomes aggressive. So, education helps people to earn money and make an identification for them.

The biggest scope of peace education is that it encourages problem-solving capability. Education not only teaches how to solve a Maths problem, but also teaches students how to think logically. Analysing different literature supports independent thinking. Education also helps to know a lot of unknown things. This knowledge gives people the idea of solving problems in a non-violent way.

Education is the best way to earn a living and live a satisfactory life. However, it also has another motive. Peace education goes beyond the concept of making a living. It teaches the students how to maintain harmony and peace in the world and have critical and logical thinking. The main concept of peace education is to make people aware of the importance of peacemaking and to develop a positive environment.

Importance of Peace Education in the Development of Society

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Essay on Peace and Harmony for Children and Students

importance of peace essay for students

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Peace and Harmony is the basic requirement of any nation. The citizens of a country feel safe and secure and can prosper only if a peaceful environment is maintained. While the people of India largely enjoy a peaceful environment, however, the peace and harmony of the country is disrupted many a times owing to various factors.

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India enjoys unity in diversity. People belonging to different religions, castes and creeds live together in the country. The Constitution of India gives its citizens the freedom of equality and various laws are in force to ensure peace and harmony in the country. However, there have been several instances when peace has been disrupted in the country owing to different reasons. Here are essays of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam.

Long and Short Essay on Peace and Harmony in English

Peace and harmony essay 1 (200 words).

Peace and Harmony is the basic need of any nation. Only if a nation enjoys peace and harmony would it be able to prosper. The Constitution of our country includes laws to ensure political and social equality among the citizens in order to avoid clashes and maintain harmony among its citizens.

Though the people of our country live peacefully with each other, often the peace is disturbed owing to some political, social, economic and religious factors. Price rise and unemployment also creates unrest among the people. People often come forward to protest against these issues due to which the normal functioning of the society is disrupted.

Terrorism is another factor that hampers the peaceful living of the people. Several terrorist attacks have been carried out in the past and the life of people has been disturbed owing to these. Some of these include the 1996 Brahmaputra mail train bombing, 1998 Coimbatore bombings, 2003 Mumbai bomb blasts, 2006 Varanasi blasts, 2013 Bangalore blast and 2015 Gurdaspur attack.

Communal riots such as the 1980 Moradabad Riots, 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, 1985 Gujarat Riots and 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots have also caused mass destruction.

The government as well as the citizens of the country must work together to bring about peace and harmony in the country.

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Peace and Harmony Essay 2 (300 words)

Peace and harmony are the building blocks of any society. Only if there is peace and harmony in the country would there be growth and development. The government of the country makes every attempt to ensure peace and harmony in the country. However, it is often disrupted due to vested interests. Here is a look at these and also the instances when peace in the country was disturbed.

Factors Impacting Peace and Harmony

  • Terrorist attacks have been one of the major reasons for the disruption of peace and harmony in the country.
  • Peace and harmony in the country is often disrupted in the name of religion. Certain religious groups try to belittle other religions, thereby causing discontent in the society.
  • Political parties often instigate people against other parties to fulfil their own selfish motifs and this often hampers the peace in the state.
  • The reservation system has also led to a lot of unrest among the people belonging to the general category. Certain communities have carried out protests demanding reservation for their people as well.

Likewise, inflation, unemployment and inter-state issues have also led to disturbance in the society time and again.

Instances of Disruption of Peace and Harmony

There have been several instances when the peace and harmony of the country was disturbed. Some of these are as follows:

  • 1957 Ramnad Riots
  • 1967 Ranchi-Hatia Riots
  • 1987 Haryana Killings
  • 1990 Hyderabad Riots
  • 1993 Bombay Bombings
  • 2000 Terrorist attack on Red Fort
  • 2001 Indian Parliament Attack
  • 2002 Gujarat Riots
  • 2006 Vadodara Riots
  • 2007 Delhi Bomb blasts
  • 2008 Jaipur Bombing
  • 2008 Gujjar Agitation
  • 2012 Pune Bombings
  • 2013 Muzaffarnagar Riots
  • 2013 Bodh Gaya Bombings
  • 2016 Jat Reservation Agitation

It is difficult to maintain peace and harmony in the country until each one of us is sensitized about its need and contributes towards the same. The government alone cannot ensure sense of brotherhood and amity in society.

Peace and Harmony Essay 3 (400 words)

Peace and harmony is very important for the smooth functioning of any society. In order to give a safe and secure environment to its citizens, the government of India takes steps to maintain peace in the country. However, often, it is disrupted due to different social, political and economic factors. Here is a look at these factors and the instances when peace and harmony of the country has been hampered.

Factors Affecting Peace and Harmony

  • Political Issues

In an attempt to score partisan goals, political parties usually instigate people against them and this often leads to disturbances in the country.

Terrorist attacks disrupt peace and harmony in the country. Such attacks create a lot of panic among the people.

Certain religious groups try to influence other people and force them to follow their religion or simply belittle other religions. This has led to communal violence many a times.

Apart from these, inter-state issues, reservation system, price rise, poverty and unemployment also disrupt the peace and harmony in the country.

Instances of Peace and Harmony being Hampered

  • 1967 Ranchi Hatia Riots

These communal riots occurred in and around Ranchi in August 1967. They continued for almost a week. 184 people were reported to be killed during this.

  • 1969 Gujarat riots

Known to be the most deadly Hindu-Muslim riots after the Partition of India, these occurred during September-October 1969.

  • Worli Riots

These riots occurred on the issue of reservation between the members of Shiv Sena and Dalit Panther in Mumbai. The Dalit Panther leader Bhagwat Jadhav was killed during this in 1974.

  • Moradabad Riots

Occurred during the August 1980, these were partially a Hindu-Muslim clash and partially a Muslim-Police conflict. The riots began when Muslims threw stones at the police as they refused to remove pig from the local Idgah. The violent incidents continued till November 1980.

  • 1993 Bombay Bombing

A series of 12 bomb explosions took place on the 12th of March 1993 in Bombay. One of the most destructive bomb explosions in India, it was carried out in reaction to 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition.

  • 2000 Church Bombings

It refers to the serial bombing of churches in the states of Goa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. These bombings were done in the year 2000 by the Islamist extremist group, Deendar Anjuman.

It is necessary for every citizen of India to understand the importance of peace and harmony in the country and together each one should work towards maintaining the same.

Peace and Harmony Essay 4 (500 words)

India is known for its democratic system and secularism that gives both political and religious equality to all its citizens to ensure peace and harmony in the country. However, there are several factors that disturb peace in the country. Here is how the Constitution binds people from diverse backgrounds as well as the factors that hamper the peace and harmony of the country.

Secularism Promotes Peace and Harmony

India is a secular country. The Constitution of India gives each of its citizens the right to practise his/her religion. The country does not have any official religion. All the religions are treated equally by the state. Equal respect to all the religions is a way of promoting peace and harmony in the country. People belonging to different religions rejoice each other’s company and celebrate all the festivals with equal zeal. In schools, at work places and various other places, people study and work together harmoniously.

The citizens of India largely live in harmony with each other. However, there are times when the peace is disrupted owing to various reasons. Some of these are mentioned below:

Terrorist attacks create panic in the society. The terror spread through these attacks remains for days to come thereby impacting peace and harmony in the country. There have been several instances of terrorist attacks in India.

Though India does not have any official religion and gives its citizens the freedom to choose or change their religion as per their will, however, there are certain religious groups that propagate and promote their religion to the level that they end up offending people belonging to the other religions. This often leads to communal violence.

  • Political Motives

Often, lack of principles is observed in political parties. One party tries to defame the other in an attempt to come to the power and stick there. Many times people belonging to a particular religion are incited to create unnecessary disturbance in the state.

  • Reservation System

In an attempt to ensure social and economic equality for the people belonging to the lower classes, the Constitution initiated the reservation system. This system has largely been opposed and many people belonging to the other castes have also come forward to demand reservation for their community. This has caused a stir and hampered peace many times.

  • State Issues

Parties such as Shiv Sena have shown intolerance towards allowing people belonging to other states to work in Maharashtra. Such issues among the states also lead to disruption of peace.

The growing rise in the prices of commodities, especially the ones that are required for daily use, is another reason for unrest in the society. People often come forward to protest against sudden rise in the prices and normal functioning of the society is often disrupted due to this.

While the government of India takes every possible means to ensure peace and harmony in the country, we still have a long way to go. It is only when each citizen recognizes the dangers of disunity, would there be complete peace and harmony in the country.

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Peace and Harmony Essay 5 (600 words)

People belonging to different religions and castes reside in different parts of India. While these people largely live in harmony with each other, however, often the peace and harmony of the country is disrupted owing to various reasons. Here is how harmony is maintained amid diversity and the factors that disrupt peace.

While the government of India is taking every possible step to maintain peace and harmony in the country, there are a number of factors that disturb it. Here is a look at the same:

Though the state does not follow any official religion and allows its citizens to choose or change their religion at any point, however, there are certain religious groups that propagate their religion to the extent that it hampers the peace and harmony of the country.

  • Caste System

There is a lot of discrimination done based on a person’s caste and creed even though the Constitution gives the right to equality to all. This discrimination sometimes leads to social outbursts and disrupts peace.

The reservation system in the country was initiated with an aim to raise the standard of living of the people belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. However, people belonging to other castes such as the Gujjar and Jat have also started demanding for reservations, thereby, hampering the peace.

  • Inter-State Issues

Many regional parties do not encourage people from other states settling in there. This often creates a lot of tension among the Shiv Sena members and the people belonging to other states in Maharashtra.

  • Unemployment and Poverty

Lack of education and good job opportunities lead to unemployment that eventually add to the poverty and raise the crime rate in the country.

  • Political Menace

Many times, the opposition instigates the general public against the party in power to fulfil their own selfish motives and this eventually leads to disturbances.

Price rise is another problem that can disrupt the smooth functioning of a society. There have been several instances when people have come forward to revolt against undue price rise and hampered the peace.

India has faced several terrorist attacks that have created fear among the citizens. The disturbance caused due to such attacks disrupts the normal functioning of the society.

There have been several instances when the peace and harmony of the country was compromised by different groups and communities. Some such instances have been shared below:

  • 1969 Gujarat Riots : The Indian state of Gujarat saw communal violence between Hindus and Muslims during September-October 1969. This was first major riot in the state that involved massacre and loot on a wide scale.
  • 1984 Sikh Massacre : The Sikhs in the country were attacked, by violent mobs. This was done as a response to the murder of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
  • 2008 Mumbai Attack : Some members of the Islamic militant organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba entered Mumbai and carried out a series of shooting and bomb attacks for four days.
  • Jat Reservation Agitation : Several protests were organised by Jat people in Haryana in February 2016. They demanded the inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class category. This disrupted the normal functioning of the state and the agitation is far from over even today.

Though the Constitution of India gives the right to equality to all its citizens to ensure complete harmony among them, there have been several instances wherein the peace has been disrupted owing to different social, political and economic reasons. The government alone cannot responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in the country. Each one of us should take it as our responsibility to nurture feelings of brotherhood with fellow citizens.

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  1. Essay on World Peace

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  1. Essay On Peace in English for Students

    Answer 2: Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in which there is no hostility and violence. In social terms, we use it commonly to refer to a lack of conflict, such as war. Thus, it is freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. Share with friends.

  2. Essay on Importance of Peace for Students

    Introduction. Peace, a state of tranquility and quiet, is a fundamental necessity for the existence and progress of any society. It is the cornerstone for the growth of civilizations, the fostering of innovation, and the nurturing of human values. Its importance cannot be overstated, as it is the catalyst for the actualization of the potential ...

  3. Peace Essay: 500+ Words Essay On Peace For Students in English

    Peace Essay: Essay On Importance of Peace in 500+ Words. Peace Essay: Peace is the synonym for bliss. Having peace within and around makes us happier. It is also the key to a harmonious society and living. Throughout history, the world has fought only for glory and superiority. Ever since the devastating results of World War II, the world has ...

  4. Making Peace

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  5. What is peace education exactly and why do we need it?

    Thus, peace education as a practice and philosophy refers to matching complementary elements between education and society, where the social purposes (i.e., why teach), content (i.e., what to teach), and pedagogy (i.e., how to teach) of the educative process are conducive to fostering peace" (Kester, 2010: 2). To help us better understand ...

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    CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Peace education in the 21st century An essential strategy for building lasting peace This report provides an overview of the importance of peace education, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for using it in efforts to bring about lasting global peace. It reviews key research and is heavily inspired by the ...

  7. Essay on Peace and Harmony

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  8. Making Peace: How Schools can Foster a more Peaceful World

    The research of Silvia Diazgranados Ferráns, an instructor and doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, reveals peace education as a complex field that seeks to help schools build communities that foster peacemaking and citizenship — to encourage students to become empathetic, inclusive, critical thinkers who have the skills to live peaceful lives.

  9. Essay On Peace for School Students in 100

    Writing a peace essay requires a proper understanding of this term, from its importance in our lives to how it can shape a better tomorrow. Here are some samples of essay on peace for school students. Table of Contents [ hide] 1 Essay on Peace in 100 Words. 2 Essay on Peace in 200 Words. 3 Essay on Peace in 300 Words.

  10. Essay on Peace And Harmony for Students

    Understanding Peace and Harmony. Peace and harmony are like two best friends who always go together. Imagine a world where everyone is kind to each other, where no one fights, and where all people, animals, and nature live happily. That world is full of peace and harmony. Peace means no war, no fighting, and no being mean.

  11. World Peace Essay: Prompts, How-to Guide, & 200+ Topics

    The importance of global peace. Thesis statement: World peace is attainable through combined efforts on individual, societal, and global levels. ... How to Promote Peace as a Student Essay Prompt. Students, as an active part of society, can play a crucial role in promoting peace at various levels. From educational entities to worldwide ...

  12. Essay on Peace 500+ Words

    Education: Educating ourselves and others about the importance of peace is the first step. b. Conflict Resolution: Learning how to resolve conflicts peacefully is a valuable skill that we can all acquire. c. Empathy: Developing empathy for others can help us understand their perspectives and reduce conflict. Conclusion of Essay on Peace

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  14. National High School Essay Contest

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  15. Full article: Peace and War in the Classroom

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  16. How to build peace? A dialogue between students and experts on the

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  17. The role of education in promoting peace

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