In this interview, Ms. Mercedes Román shares about her journey working with children and women in vulnerable situations, and how her family and religious background instilled in her a strong sense of justice, generosity and caring for the most needed members of society.

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Live from New York!

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Today we conducted a workshop in Bossey, Switzerland, in the framework of the Certificate of Advanced Studies on Interreligious Studies conducted by the World Council of Churches and accredited by the university of Geneva for young academics interested and engaged in interreligious dialogue, religious leaders, students, and lay persons. The participants came from around the world from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds.

The session titled “Interfaith ethics education for children” gathered the participants to reflect on learning to live together. Maria Lucia Uribe, Director of Arigatou International - Geneva, initiated the session by presenting the Ethics Education initiative, discussing ethics as a praxis and a concept that cannot be directly imposed; individuals must learn the principles themselves in order to put ethical values into practice. The discussion also centered around children’s rights and spirituality and encouraged reflections from the participants on how these topics encourage Interfaith learning.

The participants then were actively engaged in a game of Diminishing Islands, where participants had to compete for space on shrinking ‘islands’ on the floor. Subsequently, the participants reflected upon their behaviours in the game and how this game fostered reflections on the concepts of privilege, structural violence, critical thinking, the normalization of violence and decision-making. Some insights included that privilege is not necessarily always acknowledged by those who hold it, and that we must work hard to think of our privileges and how we can help others.

Maria Lucia Uribe closed the session by re-iterating the core areas of the Ethics Education Framework: Child Rights, Spirituality, Ethics and Interfaith Learning, as well as the elements of its pedagogical approach, namely: imagination, critical thinking, critical conscientization, self-driven learning, participatory and collaborative learning, safe learning environments, context-sensitivity, collective action, role modelling, and lastly, interconnectedness.

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After three exciting days, the pilot workshop in Tanzania for the Adaptation of the Learning to Live Together manual came to an end on Saturday, 13 July.

During the workshop, children were able to appreciate the diversity of the group, while exploring the interconnectedness among each other. They learned new techniques to identify their emotions and how to manage them in positive ways and had the chance to explore the divine in nature and see how it can help us connect with ourselves and our emotions.

Through the use of music, dance, games, play, drawings, and stories, children were encouraged to take care of our planet and to take concrete steps to make our world a better place starting at home, and at their own communities.

The last day was dedicated to learn about children’s rights and to explore how to become agents of peace, in an environment affected by conflict and violence.

At the end of the workshop, children express their satisfaction for having experienced three days of fun, new learnings, and new friends.

We especially thank GNRC- Tanzania for their unwavering support, and the families, for their trust and confidence in our Programme.

The last two pilot workshops will be held in August in India and Ecuador!

Stay tuned for more!

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“I learned that when we have different opinions we have to respect it and to not judge the others and that we have to help the people in need,” said a 10-year-old student that took part in a pilot workshop for the Adaptation of the Learning Live Together Programme to Middle Childhood.

Learn more about the pilots in El Salvador and Romania, here:

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