Bringing Peace Education into Canadian Classrooms: CICR Joins Peace Train Canada
What would it take to make peace education an integral part of learning in Canadian schools?
This question brought together educators, peace practitioners, and community members in Ottawa on October 29 and 30, 2026, as part of Peace Train Canada, a national initiative promoting peace education and collective action.
The Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution (CICR) was proud to contribute to two days of learning, exchange, and community dialogue, exploring how we can equip future generations with the skills to navigate conflict, build understanding, and contribute to more peaceful communities.
Learning from Experience: Peace Education in Schools
On October 29, the Peace Education Workshop at St. Andrew's Hall brought together educators and peacebuilding practitioners to explore what is already working, what challenges remain, and how peace education could become a more established part of Canadian classrooms.
Moderated by Sarah Twomey, Dean of Education at Trent University, the panel featured Mel Burns of the Canadian Friends Service Committee; Bonnie Klassen of the Mennonite Central Committee; Walter Dorn, Professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and Canadian Forces College; and Daniel Markus, Executive Director of CICR.
Drawing on experiences and initiatives in Canada and internationally, the discussion highlighted opportunities to strengthen peace education through collaboration among educators, school boards, communities, and policymakers.
CICR's contribution drew on more than three decades of training adults in conflict resolution, and on what colleagues in Latin America have learned by accompanying schools over several years. Three ideas framed our sharing:
Recognition comes before learning, because young people learn best when an adult sees them and takes them seriously;
Peace education is a practice rather than a subject, and it lives in how a school handles a crisis and in the relationships among the adults;
And Canada does not lack curricula for peer mediation and conflict skills. What has been missing is a way to stay with schools long enough for the work to survive the end of a grant or the departure of a principal.
From Conversation to Collective Possibilities
On October 30, the conversation continued through A Community Dialogue on Peace Education, facilitated by CICR.
The gathering brought together participants in five rotating discussion groups, each supported by a volunteer facilitator from CICR's community of trained and emerging Third-Party Neutral (TPN) practitioners.
Through this participatory process, people had the opportunity to listen, reflect, exchange experiences, and explore different perspectives on advancing peace education.
The energy in the room was inspiring. Conversations generated a wealth of ideas and possibilities that could help inform Peace Train Canada's future direction, including exploratory working groups and new initiatives.
Rather than seeking immediate answers or a predetermined outcome, the dialogue created space for collective reflection and new connections, demonstrating the value of bringing diverse voices together around a shared purpose.
Building on Shared Ideas
Across the two days, approximately 80 people participated in the gatherings, reflecting a shared interest in strengthening peace education and supporting the next generation of peacebuilders.
For CICR, the events also reflected a central principle of our work: meaningful change begins with the ability to engage across differences, listen with curiosity, and work collaboratively toward constructive possibilities.
As Peace Train Canada explores the ideas and connections emerging from these gatherings, we look forward to seeing how this collective energy inspires further conversations, partnerships, and initiatives.
Peace education is about more than teaching peace. It is about creating opportunities to practise the skills, relationships, and ways of engaging that make peace possible.
A question with deep roots in Ottawa
The question the Peace Train brought to Ottawa is not new here. In 1988, the year CICR was founded, students at Woodroffe High School became the first peer mediators in a Canadian high school, and the mayors of all eleven municipalities of Ottawa-Carleton proclaimed the first Conflict Resolution Day, with a message from the Prime Minister encouraging schools to teach peer mediation and conflict management skills. We tell that story, with the original booklet, in Where it began: Conflict Resolution Day, 1988.
CICR extends its appreciation to Peace Train Canada, the organizers, speakers, participants, and our volunteer facilitators who contributed their time, experience, and commitment to these two days.
Watch our Peace Train Canada video on LinkedIn.
