51³Ô¹Ï

Education has an important role to play in addressing violent pasts and preventing atrocity crimes ¨C genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. However, teaching about these topics is challenging. 

Marking the Nelson Mandela International Day, the 51³Ô¹Ï and UNESCO emphasize the crucial role of education in promoting peace and conflict prevention. They have released a new guide for teachers in Africa that offers advice on how to teach about atrocity crimes that occurred on the continent and worldwide. The guide includes recommended teaching principles and practical examples.

The guide is co-published by 51³Ô¹Ï (through its Department of Global Communications) and UNESCO and was developed in partnership with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). The development was informed by a curriculum assessment and teacher survey in Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. Regional advisors from these six countries advised on the contents of the guide along with an expert group of regional and international stakeholders working on genocide education and prevention. A draft of the guide was tested by African teachers and students in a piloting exercise led by IICBA. 

¡°Experience from the field of Holocaust education has shown that learning about atrocity crimes has the potential to increase students¡¯ awareness of present-day discrimination and enable them to comprehend the reasons, triggers and warning signs of massive human rights violations,¡± explains Karel Fracapane, UNESCO Program Specialist in the Education Sector. ¡°Developing a guide for African teachers also allows us to address regional specificities, such as the legacy of colonialism.¡±

Tracey Petersen, manager of the Holocaust and the 51³Ô¹Ï Outreach Programme, Department of Global Communications, observed that, ¡°educating about atrocity crimes is challenging, both for the teacher and the student. But to build a world in which all can live with dignity and in peace, we need to teach and learn about the past, so that we can address constructively its legacy, and prevent future atrocities. This guide is an expression of the commitment of the 51³Ô¹Ï system to this process.¡±  

How does the guide cater to African teachers¡¯ needs?

Its tailored approach was informed by exchanges with African stakeholders and advisors and tested through a piloting exercise with African teachers and students led by the UNESCO IICBA. Jean de Dieu MIHIGO, a history teacher in Rwanda, who participated in the exercise, said: ¡°The training and the guide helped me better prepare a good lesson on sensitive and difficult topics such as genocide and mass crimes¡±. 

Richard Anyango Owuor, an English teacher from Kenya, spoke to the importance of the new publication for post-conflict settings: ¡°My students have been developing greater understanding of their background, they are valuing the importance of unity and tolerance and looking for the small ways of accepting one another as one people. Majority of them were born or were young when Kenya went through the worst post-election violence in its history and therefore have witnessed and experienced many atrocities themselves¡±.

The guide builds on a curriculum review and teacher survey covering Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. A policy brief for education policy-makers will be published to accompany the guide. 

Why teach in Africa about atrocity crimes?

Atrocity crimes are a global problem. Their legacies affect societies both in Africa and worldwide, shaping identities and public discourse and fueling future conflict and violence if left unaddressed. To prevent the recurrence of such crimes, reflecting on the roots, reasons, factors of escalation, and impact of genocide and mass atrocities is indispensable. 

Education can be a powerful tool to raise awareness of the legacies of atrocity crimes across the African continent, be it the genocide against the Herero and Nama by German colonial powers on the territory of today¡¯s Namibia or, more recently, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Such education may provide both teachers and learners with a more nuanced understanding of their countries¡¯ history, identities, and warning signs of atrocities. 

Atrocity crimes are not inevitable. They can be prevented. It is important for students to understand why and how they take place and escalate.

How do we teach about atrocity crimes? 

Learning outcomes also highly depend on pedagogies ¨C how the teacher teaches. The guide lays out guiding principles for teachers to use for constructive discussions with their students. These principles are applicable in any context in the world. The principles include:  

• Having accurate historical knowledge,
• building awareness of one¡¯s personal beliefs, views and biases, and using reliable sources of information to prepare the lessons 
• Connecting learner experiences to broader social, political and international dynamics and not just focusing on local contexts; 
• Learning about atrocity crimes by including personal accounts of survivors and witnesses and discussing long-term consequences and impact 
• Using participatory, learner-centred, and inclusive pedagogies based on social and emotional learning. 

Each teaching principle is accompanied by practical examples and strategies and is linked to suggested teaching practices in the annex to the guide. The guide also provides advice about what can be done beyond the classroom by community and non-formal organizations, including survivors' groups, elders, museums, media and civil society.

Read the full guide .