Supporters' Panel: Helping peace education reach more people

Creating educational resources is only part of the work. How do we help people find them, use them and start conversations of their own?

That was the question at the heart of Conscience’s Supporters’ Panel on 5th November. Bringing together supporters and people involved in peace work in Britain and Belgium, the discussion offered practical ideas for giving our Education for Peace materials a wider audience.

Resources for understanding and discussion

Conscience’s Education for Peace programme explores conscientious objection to military service and military taxation, alongside related questions about military spending and non-military alternatives.

Developed through the work of our former Education Worker, Karen, the collection includes factsheets, booklets, infographics and videos. These provide historical background and explain perspectives that are often missing from public discussion.

The materials are primarily intended for adults and the wider public. Readers do not have to share a particular position on war to find them useful: their purpose is to support understanding and thoughtful discussion.

Working through existing connections

One of the most promising suggestions came from a volunteer school speaker with CND Peace Education. His experience highlighted the importance of relationships with teachers and of offering materials that educators can use in their own settings. We will follow up an offered introduction to explore whether our resources could complement that work.

Participants also suggested teacher-training institutions, teaching-union conferences, libraries and universities as possible routes to new audiences. Experiences shared from Belgium illustrated how exhibitions and visual materials can provide a starting point for conversations about peace.

These are possibilities to explore, rather than a programme we can undertake all at once. For a small organisation, working with others and learning from their experience will be important.

Making better use of what we have

A recurring point was the need to share and use existing materials before putting more time into producing new ones. Several participants were encountering our resources for the first time, a useful reminder that making something available online does not mean it will automatically reach an interested reader.

We also need to learn more about how the materials are used. That feedback can help us understand which resources are useful, where they could reach further and what might need improving.

Our thanks to everyone who joined the discussion and shared their ideas.

Explore our free Education for Peace resources. If you have used them, or know a group that might find them useful, we would be pleased to hear from you, please contact us at campaign@conscienceonline.org.uk