The Learning to Live Together Programme (LTLT) was first introduced to Indonesia during a facilitator training workshop conducted by GNRC South Asia and Arigatou International – Geneva, in partnership with the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO in 2012 and with the help of Ms. Wati Wardani and Mr. Fendra Kusmani. Since then, it has reached more than 1,000 children in more than 30 schools in the country.

“In 2007 at Azania Secondary School, I overhead from my classmates about the Peace Club initiative at school. "Peace?" I asked, not sure why I was intrigued, but after one meeting I became overly interested in the idea to take an active peacebuilding role.” This is how Yusuph Masanja, Coordinator of GNRC (Global Network of Religions) Tanzania, describes his first contact with the GNRC Peace Clubs. Since then, he has stayed on the front line advocating for the GNRC mission.

After participating in the Second International Train the Trainers in April 2017, the 27 new official trainers have been putting into practice all their learnings and moving ahead across a wide range of areas, designing new programs for facilitators, crafting projects to foster peacebuilding, interfaith collaboration, and children and youth participation, as well as working for the prevention of violence against children.

Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas and Global Network of Religions of Children (GNRC) El Salvador have been pioneers in the implementation of the Learning to Live Together (LTLT) Programme since 2007 when the pilot process that led to the development of the LTLT manual was initiated.

Ten years later, and after engaging in a number of trainings and implementations in different areas of the country, the two organizations are joining forces again to work on Bridging the Gap, a two-year project funded by the Dutch Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid), that aims to strengthen the local and social fabric and youth leadership in at risk areas in El Salvador.

A total of 47 children from a Christian community in Istmina, Choco Region in Colombia are being benefited by the implementation of the Learning to Live Together programme (LTLT) since November 2016.

All the members of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) are gearing up towards the Fifth Forum of GNRC to take place in Panama City on May 2017, under the theme “Transformed Faith Communities: Ending Violence Against Children”.

Worldwide millions of children and young people are daily exposed to violence in different forms and they are also the most vulnerable victims of the scourge of radicalization. In this context, one of the sub-themes of the Forum will be Building Resilience to Prevent Violent Extremism and Organized Crime: The Role of Faith Communities. The aim is to “identify actions that can be deployed by religious leaders and faith communities to prevent, reduce and end the manipulation and use of children for violent extremism and organized crime”, explains Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, the Secretary-General of GNRC.

The Pilot Program to implement the Learning to Live Together (LTLT) Programme in the Tana River County came to an end, delivering positive outcomes, particularly in relation to its impact on children, teachers and the communities.

The initiative, which took off in September 2014, was developed by Arigatou International Geneva, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kenya (MoEST) and UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, reaching 657 children between 9 and 17 years old.

Saydoon Nisa Sayed is a South African human rights faith activist. She is moved by her faith, passionate about children and restless on gender justice advocacy. Saydoon lives in Overport, a hilly residential area near Durban, South Africa where she is the regional coordinator for Religions for Peace, an international and interfaith movement that works across religious divides to bring peace and understanding.

Laura Molnar is a trainer of the Learning to Live Together Programme (LTLT) and has become the driving force behind its implementation in the Romanian formal education system.

Laura comes from a little mountain town in Transylvania, Romania, but she is currently based in Bucharest. Her journey with the LTLT Programme started in 2009 when, while working as a psychologist for disadvantaged children, she was trained in a basic workshop in Geneva. With this new set of knowledge and skills, she started implementing the LTLT approach with the children she worked with. One year later she was selected to participate in the International Train the Trainers course organized by Arigatou International Geneva, which led her to a certification as a LTLT trainer.

Mrs. Prabha Karthik coordinated during a period of ten months an ethics education program with families in Chennai, India. Prabha shares in this interview with us her journey using the Learning to Live Together Programme to support parents on strengthening their parenting skills.

The program used the educational framework, approach and methodologies of the Learning to Live Together manual. Activities were customized to parents with the purpose of creating spaces to discuss about values, spirituality, interfaith learning, the rights of the child and how to create safe environments for children.

This work is part of the Strengthening Family Systems programme of Arigatou International Geneva.