Fields of Study - 0 7613
Contact Us
Phone:
800.336.1616
802.258.3510
TTY:
802.258.3388
Fax:
802.258.3500
PO Box 676, Kipling Road
Brattleboro, VT 05302 USA
Contact us by email.
Youth Peacebuilding and Leadership Programs
For over 15 years, the School for International Training (SIT) has provided life-changing intercultural experiences and empowerment training for youth in diverse contexts. It has developed effective models for youth programs which address global issues and build meaningful, supportive relationships among young people who care about improving their world. Each summer the School holds a variety of two-week peacebuilding and leadership programs for international and US teens at its campus in Brattleboro, Vermont. Participants have included Greek- and Turkish Cypriots, Israeli Jewish and Arab youth; Catholic and Protestant high school students from Northern Ireland; White and Pakistani-Muslim heritage youth from Oldham, England, and high school students from Vermont at the Governor's Institute on Current Issues and Youth Activism. Participants do teambuilding and trust-building activities, engage in dialogue with each other on issues of common concern, and build supportive peer and mentor relationships, as they join a growing global network of youth peacebuilders.
The programs offer experiential simulations and informational sessions to help the participants develop skills for social action, dialogue about difficult issues, and group decision-making, and conflict transformation. Faculty and staff run short workshops in which the participants are challenged to heighten their skills of observation, reflection, critical analysis and problem-solving as they relate to intercultural situations.
Photo of Youth Peacebuilding Camps participants.The Youth Peacebuilding Camps include a balanced representation of young people from different sides of a conflict, such as Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Israelis and Palestinians, and representatives from other groups in conflict. They range in ages 15 to 20 and have the demonstrated maturity and leadership potential needed for the camp, as well as the commitment to participate in follow up activities when they return home.
The knowledge and skills gained are applied toward a personal working definition and operating model of effective intercultural communication. Other sessions emphasize self-knowledge and communication skills for teens. Outside of these focused group sessions, the participants engage in outdoor challenge, recreational and social activities designed to help them utilize the knowledge and skills gained in the training and informational sessions. Processing of these activities stimulate reflection and discussion of the issues raised during the group sessions in addition to providing fun, relaxation and sharing among the participants. Working with facilitators from their countries, the students develop strategies for working toward peace, understanding, and social justice when they return to their homes.
