A.02. Alphabets of Peace As Transformative Devices

Contemporary wars, humanitarian crises’ proliferation, and the growing fragility of democratic systems require a profound reconsideration of education as a cognitive, ethical, and political device. The complexity of current conflicts – in which geopolitical, cultural, economic, psychological, and environmental dimensions intersect – demands a distinctly interdisciplinary and decolonial approach, integrating contributions from critical and emergency pedagogy, peace studies, sociology, the psychology of collective trauma, international human rights law, digital media studies, the anthropology of conflict, and political science.

Drawing on epistemologies of positive peace and the nonviolent transformation of conflicts, as well as on structural interpretations of violence proposed by international literature on peace education, the panel aims to examine the transformative processes that emerge in contexts of war and in societies shaped by political instability and systemic inequalities. The authors are therefore invited to present contributions aimed at analyzing:
• learning in conflict zones, emergency schools, and diasporic contexts;
• interrelations between mediation, agency, community empowerment, and psycho-social resilience;
• the effects of propaganda tools, disinformation, and discursive devices on the construction of imaginaries and narratives of violence;
• the role of education in cognitive and symbolic disarmament, in peace-building processes, and in safeguarding human dignity;
• the potential of educational institutions as spaces of reconciliation, healing, peace-making and the construction of global citizenship.

The panel seeks to advance, through research experiences and good praxis, theoretical and methodological reflections on education’s capacity to counter violence in all its forms, generate critical awareness, and support lasting peace-building processes in societies deeply marked by conflict.