Introduction

13. June 2016

The School Peace model was worked out by Finnish students together with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. School Peace was introduced at the beginning of 1990ies and it has become a cornerstone of reinforcing informal education in the Finnish school system.

School Peace Programme was introduced in Estonia in 1999 on the initiative of Estonian Youth Work Centre, in cooperation with non-profit organization NPO T.O.R.E. (Estonian Support Students Union NPO), Eesti 4H (Estonia 4H) and Estonian School Student Councils’ Union. In the following years the Estonian Police, Estonian Union for Child Welfare, Estonian Guide Association, Young Eagles, Youth for Europe Estonian Agency, UNICEF, NPO Estonian Neighbourhood Watch: School Watch, Estonian National Youth Council have joined the Programme through various activities.

Since 2008 the School Peace Programme is lead by Estonian Union for Child Welfare.

Estonian Union for Child Welfare is an organization promoting and standing for the rights of children and the development of a child friendly society.
Estonian Union for Child Welfare is a non-governmental non-profit organization acknowledged and supported by public, commercial and non-governmental institutions and the community of Estonia for its work for ensuring children’s rights.
Our values:
•          We care for children, families and each other
•          We are open-minded and positive
•          We commit to child welfare movement with joy.
Our values are in the eyes of happy children!
The number of cooperation partners and schools that have joined us has considerably grown by now.

The aim of the School Peace Programme is to achieve a safe and friendly school environment together with the big and the small, the young and the grownups. School Peace Programme supports the school’s own initiative in solving problems arising from the school environment, by promoting happy and safe school environment where everyone feels herself/himself well.

The goal of the School Peace Program is to promote school life that enables:

  • to get to know oneself and one’s peers;
  • to provide a friendly and tolerant atmosphere that supports expressing one’s ideas and feelings;
  • to create a prevailing atmosphere of solidarity where no one is ostracized;
  • to develop a nonviolent attitude towards aggravations and misunderstandings with the aim of finding solutions;
  • to support personal initiative of everyone;
  • a high school motivation of every student and teacher.
The Programme addresses students, teachers and school’s administrative staff, also various interest groups associated with school environment.