Unique Perspectives on Learning in Contexts of Conflict : Voices of Youth

• In Event: Unique perspectives on learning in contexts of conflict: Voices of youth, gender and marginalized groups in Honduras, Pakistan and Northern Nigeria

Abstract

The presentation will begin with a short video of 3-5 minutes that give the audience the opportunity to hear, first hand, the voices of youth in Honduras. In this video, the young people talk about learning under extreme conditions of violence in and around their homes. They talk specific about how learning is different for them, how retention and progress in their educational development is measured against a very different set of indicators as compared with those used in traditional schooling. The youth learn in what is called ‘outreach centers’ in Honduras. The outreach centers (OCs) are designed to provide safe spaces for children and youth in vulnerable communities. They are alternative learning centers addressing the risk factors that make youth vulnerable to violence and conflict while simultaneously strengthening their protective factors and building their resiliency. In Honduras, the OC provide children and youth in high risk communities with opportunities for creative use of free time, life skills training, after school tutoring, job training and community volunteerism. Close to 50,000 children and youth have benefited from Creative OC in Central America and the model is ready for global scale and replicability.

Author

• Carlos Muñoz Burgos, Creative Associates International