Peace Education in Czechia: Why Dialogue Needs More Than Good Intentions

A European project connects research, cultural exchange and community experience to explore how education can strengthen understanding, inclusion and social cohesion.

A language class, a cultural event or a community workshop may not immediately bring peacebuilding to mind. Yet the everyday spaces where people meet, communicate and learn from one another can play an important role in strengthening trust and social cohesion.

What happens when neighbours speak different languages, belong to different generations or have different experiences of migration and belonging? How can educators and cultural organisations create opportunities for genuine dialogue rather than occasional encounters?

These questions are central to DANUBE PEACE – Learning Peace Through Culture, an international Erasmus+ project in which Multicultural Center Brusinka represents the Czech Republic.

DANUBE PEACE: Connecting Communities Across Borders

DANUBE PEACE is a two-year European cooperation project (2025–2027), co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Programme.

The partnership brings together six organisations from five countries: Germany, Czechia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Coordinated by Youth Power Germany, the project combines expertise in adult education, cultural cooperation, community engagement and peacebuilding.

Its central idea is that peace education extends beyond the study of armed conflicts. It also concerns the skills and conditions needed for people to communicate constructively, navigate differences, address prejudice and participate in community life.

The project connects research with practical educational tools. Its activities include:

• Mapping peace education opportunities: identifying existing initiatives, resources and challenges across the participating countries.

• Animated educational videos: developing accessible explanations of peacebuilding concepts and approaches.

• Open Educational Resources: creating a modular curriculum and practical activities for adult educators.

• Cross-border networking and training: connecting educators, cultural organisations and community actors to exchange experience and develop local initiatives.

One of the project's first major results is the Comprehensive Mapping Report, accompanied by an Interactive Peacebuilding Opportunities Map presenting 28 educational and community resources across the five participating countries.

Together, these tools help organisations discover existing approaches, compare local experiences and identify opportunities for cooperation.

What Did We Learn from the Czech Research?

As part of Work Package 2, the Czech research focused primarily on Brno and the surrounding region.

An online questionnaire in Czech and English collected responses from 18 participants, including adult educators, community workers, NGO representatives, cultural professionals and people involved in educational and social initiatives.

Although this was a small, non-representative survey, it revealed several relevant patterns among respondents already engaged in community life.

Seventeen out of eighteen respondents considered peace education important or very important. Sixteen believed that adult education could contribute to better communication, cooperation and social cohesion.

At the same time, the findings highlighted a gap between recognising the importance of dialogue and having the resources to support it.

Only three respondents reported that intercultural dialogue takes place regularly in their communities, while ten described it as occasional.

When asked about the main gaps affecting peace education, respondents identified:

• Funding and resources — 14 respondents

• Training opportunities for educators — 12 respondents

• Safe spaces for dialogue — 11 respondents

• Educational materials — 10 respondents

These results suggest that, for the practitioners surveyed, the challenge is not simply a lack of interest in peace education. It is also the need for stronger educational infrastructure, accessible tools, skilled facilitation and more consistent opportunities for participation.

The Czech context differs significantly from countries experiencing armed conflict or its direct aftermath. Nevertheless, migration-related integration challenges, social fragmentation, misinformation and limited dialogue can create tensions that require thoughtful educational and community responses.

Peace education therefore has a preventive dimension: it can help communities develop the ability to address differences before they become deeper divisions.

Beyond the Classroom: The Experience of Multicultural Center Brusinka

At Multicultural Center Brusinka in Brno, education, culture and community participation are interconnected.

The centre brings together people from different linguistic, cultural and social backgrounds through language learning, creative activities, music, cultural events, educational workshops and community initiatives.

In our earlier work, we introduced the concept of a multicultural ecosystem built around three interconnected elements: support, resources and interaction.

This approach starts from the understanding that meaningful inclusion requires more than access to individual services. People also need opportunities to contribute, develop relationships and feel recognised as members of a community.

A language course may help someone communicate more confidently. A cultural event can introduce unfamiliar traditions and perspectives. A workshop can bring participants together around a shared activity, creating opportunities for informal exchange.

However, such encounters do not automatically produce understanding or lasting relationships.

Their educational value depends on how activities are organised, whether participants can contribute on equal terms and what opportunities exist for continued interaction.

The DANUBE PEACE mapping recognises Brusinka as a community-based example of cultural dialogue, integration and intergenerational cooperation.

The Czech mapping also includes initiatives such as One World in Schools, which uses documentary films and educational activities to develop critical thinking, and World Bridge Initiatives, which connects communities through storytelling and civic engagement. These examples demonstrate that peace-related learning can take different forms, from structured educational programmes to grassroots cultural initiatives.

Three Practical Lessons for Community Organisations

The WP2 findings offer useful lessons for organisations wishing to strengthen intercultural dialogue and community participation.

1. Make participation genuinely accessible

Before organising an activity, consider who can realistically take part.

Language barriers, financial limitations, unfamiliar environments or uncertainty about being welcome can prevent people from participating. Multilingual information, clear communication, flexible participation formats and attention to individual needs can help remove some of these obstacles.

Inclusion begins before participants enter the room.

2. Turn cultural encounters into meaningful dialogue

Culture can create an accessible starting point for communication, but facilitation gives the experience educational purpose. A film screening can become an opportunity to discuss different perspectives. A creative workshop can encourage cooperation. A cultural presentation can invite reflection on identity, belonging and shared experiences. The important question is not only what participants experience, but also what they are invited to explore, question and understand together. Educators should create space for voluntary participation, respectful disagreement and reflection, particularly when sensitive experiences are involved.

3. Build continuity and shared responsibility

A single event may raise awareness, but sustained engagement requires opportunities to meet again, exchange ideas and participate in shaping future activities. Community members should be treated not only as audiences or recipients of services, but also as contributors, collaborators and potential initiators. This shift from participation towards co-creation can help organisations build stronger relationships and more responsive community programmes.

From Local Experience to European Cooperation

One of the strengths of DANUBE PEACE is the opportunity to compare different national and local experiences without assuming that one approach will work everywhere.

The circumstances of communities affected by war in Ukraine differ considerably from those navigating historical divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina or integration and social cohesion challenges in Czechia and Germany.

Yet across these contexts, educators and community organisations encounter related questions: how to support dialogue, strengthen participation, address exclusion and create learning environments where people feel respected.

The Interactive Peacebuilding Opportunities Map offers a practical starting point for exploring these connections.

Rather than developing every educational activity from the beginning, organisations can discover existing resources, examine their original sources and consider how particular methods might be adapted to local needs.

The next stages of DANUBE PEACE will build on this research through animated educational materials, a structured curriculum, training opportunities and international cooperation.

For Multicultural Center Brusinka, participation in the project provides an opportunity to contribute experience from the Czech community and cultural sector while learning from partners working in different social and historical contexts.

Peace Education Begins with the Conditions We Create

Peace education does not require every community activity to address conflict directly.

Sometimes its contribution lies in creating the conditions for people to meet, communicate, listen and participate in shaping the environments they share.

But meaningful dialogue cannot depend on goodwill alone. It requires accessible spaces, skilled educators, practical resources, continuity and cooperation between organisations.

This is one of the central lessons emerging from the DANUBE PEACE research.

By connecting local practice with international knowledge, the project aims to help educators and communities move from recognising the importance of dialogue towards creating real opportunities for it.

Explore the DANUBE PEACE project https://danube-peace.eu/en/

Discover the Interactive Peacebuilding Opportunities Map https://danube-peace.eu/en/interactive-peacebuilding-opportunities-map/

Read the Comprehensive Mapping Report https://danube-peace.eu/en/comprehensive-mapping-report/

Author: Multicultural Center Brusinka, Czech Republic

DANUBE PEACE – Learning Peace Through Culture is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Programme.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.