NEISSR and Peace Channel, Chümoukedima observed the International Day of Peace 2026 on September 21. (Photo Courtesy: NEISSR Desk)
Chümoukedima, September 21 (MExN): The North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR) and Peace Channel, Chümoukedima, on September 21 called for greater investment in peace education, stressing that sustainable peace must be nurtured through education, dialogue, human dignity and responsible citizenship.
On the occasion of the International Day of Peace 2026, NEISSR Desk in a press release issued said the United Nations theme for this year, “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day” underlines the importance of making peace a continuous commitment rather than an occasional aspiration.
Addressing the occasion, Fr Dr CP Anto, Principal, NEISSR, and Director, Peace Channel, said education must go beyond academic knowledge and professional qualifications and equip individuals to understand differences, manage disagreements constructively, respect diversity and human dignity, and contribute to peaceful families, institutions and communities.
Noting that conflicts at the family, community, national and international levels demonstrate the need for professionally trained peacebuilders, Fr Anto said the continuing challenges arising from conflict and violence in the region, including Manipur, together with conflicts in different parts of the world, underline the importance of expertise in dialogue, mediation, reconciliation, conflict transformation and peacebuilding.
“Peace cannot be left only to governments and political institutions. Communities also need professionally trained peacebuilders who can work at the grassroots and help transform conflict into opportunities for dialogue and cooperation,” he said.
NEISSR has introduced Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies at graduate and postgraduate levels through its BSW and MSW programmes under Nagaland University, exposing students to peacebuilding, conflict transformation, mediation, human rights, social justice, dialogue and peaceful coexistence.
Building on this experience, NEISSR and Peace Channel propose to approach the Government of Nagaland to explore the systematic introduction of peace education at the school level, with Fr Anto observing that peace education should begin early so that children and young people develop empathy, respect diversity, understand emotions, communicate peacefully and resolve disagreements without violence.
He said if peace education is introduced from school and strengthened through higher education, Nagaland can nurture a generation that is academically competent as well as socially responsible, and could aspire to become a model state in India for integrating peace education across the educational continuum, from school to graduate and postgraduate education.
NEISSR and Peace Channel also encouraged young people to consider Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies, particularly through social work education, saying such training can prepare students for professional opportunities in government departments, NGOs, civil society organisations, educational institutions, development agencies and community-based organisations, while also developing competencies useful for competitive examinations such as UPSC and NPSC.
To translate peace education into concrete community transformation, the two organisations are promoting a “3+3+3” Peace Intervention Model under which every student at NEISSR is requested to help three students, three families and three communities live in peace.
The focus is not merely on conducting activities but on creating measurable positive change through identification, listening, understanding, intervention, connection, follow-up and documentation, with an annual Peace Impact Report to document interventions, outcomes and stories of transformation.
Fr Anto called upon educational institutions, government, civil society, families, teachers and young people to make peace a shared responsibility and urged people not to merely teach peace but become peacebuilders.
