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Addressing urban violence through education

Mon, March 9, 8:00 to 9:30am, Washington Hilton, Floor: Terrace Level, Fairchild West

Session Submission Type: Group Panel

Description of Session

The recognition that urban violence is a considerable threat to the stability and development of states and the wellbeing of their citizens has led national and international researchers to examine the role and effectiveness of violence prevention and reduction programs or citizen security programs in urban settings. Consequently, there has been a number of mapping exercises and analyses involving these initiatives. Recent examination of such initiatives (especially in Latin America) has shown a shift from ‘heavy-handed’ approaches (which emphasize the use of police force for dealing with violence), towards ‘softer handed’ civil society methods (which aim to create order through prevention or addressing conflict drivers). Often, education and training is at the heart of these methods.

Latin America and parts of sub-Saharan Africa are some of the most urbanized regions of the world. In 2025, the urban population in Africa is expected to be larger than in Europe and Latin America combined. During the same period, Latin America (which is already considered to be the most urbanized part of the globe) is likely to witness a rise in city-to-city migration resulting in the proliferation of medium-sized cities. While such urbanization is likely to help in the overall development of the two regions, it is also likely to exacerbate inequalities, which, in turn, may increase the already high levels of lethal violence experienced by many countries in the two regions.

Brazil and South Africa are two examples of countries which have shown high levels of socio-economic development, but also inequality and interpersonal and public violence. Both countries have addressed violence, but have approached it from different contextual perspectives. In Brazil, armed violence prevention and reduction programs (AVPR) and citizen security programs seek to address conflict in urban settings. In South Africa, civil society has taken the lead on violence prevention and reduction, less through a security lens, and more through a socio-economic/poverty reduction lens. In both cases, initiatives that focus on formal and nonformal education (broadly conceived) can offer insights into good practices and lessons learned. Indeed, the case studies of Brazil and South Africa illustrate the relationship between conflict, violence, and education programming opportunities.

Given the changing nature of conflict and violence globally – one that sees both armed conflict and so-called non-conflict increasingly taking place in urban settings – this panel will explore a simple question: what formal and nonformal education strategies are being implemented to address urban violence?

The panel will be divided into two presentations exploring in 30 minutes each the cases of Brazil and South Africa. The remaining 30 minutes will be open for discussion with the audience. Questions and comments will be encouraged from the audience during this time. The goal of the discussion is to advance a dialogue on the role formal and nonformal education programming may play in mitigating urban violence in other countries with similar challenges to Brazil and South Africa.

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