Introduction

Picture: UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace Archives

There is not only one way to understand peace, but rather there are as many ways of making peace(s) as there are different people and cultures.

This is one of the ideas that uphold the approach of the International Master in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (PEACE Master) of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castellón, Spain, within the framework of the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace. The curriculum promotes specific education in peace theories, conflict, development, humanitarian aid, cultures of peace, democracy, human rights, communication by peaceful means, gender and postcolonial studies. It also focuses on tools for peaceful conflict prevention and transformation.

UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace was created by means of an agreement among UNESCO, Bancaja-Fundación Caja Castellón and the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) in October, 1999. It was established to promote the constant building and dissemination of cultures of peace. The main activities of this programme are held in the Postgraduate Studies Center of UJI and in the Bancaja International Center for Peace and Development Studies (CIBPD) venue of the University campus. The CIBPD was created in 1996, and then in 2002 was relocated to the University campus. In 1999, the UNESCO awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal to the CIBPD.

In 2006, the International Master in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies became an Official Postgraduate Pogramme which also includes the Ph.D. programme. Therefore, it is equivalent to an MA and an MPhil.

Additionally, from the academic year 2009-2010 (Royal Decree 1393/2007) onwards, the Universities Board approved the verification for this University Master which had already been positively evaluated by the ANECA (National Agency for Quality Evaluation and Accreditation). Besides, it follows the criteria of the convergence process of the European Higher Education Area within the Bologna Framework, of the current Spanish legislation, of the Valencian Government Regulations, and of the UJI’s academic criteria.

At the beginning of 2013, the Master was positively verified by, and it is now known as “International Master in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies”.

The Peace Master encourages the student body to work not only inside but also outside the classroom. Although the courses reflect the quality of our international faculty, an important part of the learning process takes place by means of the interaction among the students - professionals and graduate students who have had previous enriching experiences – as well as by sharing experiences outside the classroom. Through the different learning activities we aim at building an intercultural community which integrates and promotes cultures in order to make peace(s).

The student body comes from developed countries (Norway, Germany, the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom/Great Britain, France, Australia, Spain, among others) and also from developing countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ruanda, Palestine, Iran, Pakistan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Colombia, Haiti, Nicaragua, Paraguay, among others). Some of them often reflect current cross pressures and dislocations, while others have themselves experienced wars and violent conflicts which that the rest of the world has only known through the media.

Through the active participation in the programme, all the students will notice how their perceptions and assumptions towards other cultures and societies will be challenged, questioned and even in many cases significantly modified, as they build a new network of intercultural relationships which enriches the student's life as world citizens. By means of this international, interdisciplinary and intercultural experience, students learn about the diverse ways in which emotions can be expressed, and about the close relationships and friendships that are forged among people from different backgrounds. Our staff has seen intimate friendships develop among students through the years. We believe that this program provides students with an understanding of peace, conflict and development that goes beyond merely academic understanding.

Our main effort is to create a learning community based on diversity, which becomes able to face the most difficult and most important problems of our time. Inevitably, students realize that solutions to everyday problems will only be possible if they are able to recognize and comprehend the variety of cultures that are shaping this rapidly changing world. In this way, we build a microcosm where we try to transform conflict by peaceful means based on the respect and the understanding of others’ ways of life, by promoting intercultural dialogue and academic exchange between the South and the North.