CONSTRUCTING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES FOR PEACEBUILDING: THE EXPERIENCE OF A PEACE PSYCHOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DELIVERED SIMULTANEOUSLY BETWEEN EGYPT AND COLOMBIA

Back to Page Authors: Kate Ellis, Miguel Gutierrez-Pelaez

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Keywords: peace psychology, Colombian peace process, peace education, Arab Spring

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Abstract: From February to May 2019, we delivered simultaneously a course titled "The psychology of war and peace" between the American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt, and the Universidad del Rosario (UR) in Bogotá, Colombia, using online video conferencing. The undergraduate course included 18 students from AUC (17 from Egypt, one from Yemen and one from Bahrain) and 11 students from Colombia. The course presented a comparative view of the peacebuilding history and challenges in each country, and in Northern Ireland. The students had online forums through a Blackboard platform through which they interacted permanently, had different topics each week, and had to share and learn through the other students about each country. Whatsapp groups were also created and used throughout the course. The students were divided into six (6) different groups and, at the end of the course, they presented an integrative essay that included the novel comprehensions of the topics reviewed, taking into account the specific experiences of the other country which could be beneficial for the processes of peacebuilding in their own country. Student's evaluations of the course were also carried out during the semester. A visit of each professor to the partner university took place. The course proved to be a unique experience for the construction of intercultural competences for peacebuilding between two different cultures and countries that, nonetheless, face both mental health issues regarding conflict and violence. This course was primarily delivered as an interactive lecture format simultaneously at AUC and UR.

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