[HWPL]

[HWPL] Ministries of Education in Ethiopia, Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica Sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with HWPL

From left, Memorandum of Agreements signed by HWPL with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on October 16, 2019; the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Antigua and Barbuda on September 11, 2020; and the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development of the Commonwealth of Dominica on April 23, 2021

State Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (left) holds a Memorandum of Agreement after putting his signature to the Agreement at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 16, 2019

On October 16, 2019, HWPL and the Ministry of Higher Science and Education (MoSHE) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the MoSHE office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The MOA was signed by Dr. Samuel Kifle Kidane, State Minister of Education. HWPL first came into contact with the MoSHE during their 29th Peace Tour in 2018, when the HWPL Department of International Relations discussed an MOA with the Ministry of Education through continuous peace education dialogue. In 2019, they were able to meet again with State Minister Samuel Kidane through the HWPL Ethiopia branch. At that time, Dr. Kidane introduced HWPL to the head of the national curriculum department so that peace education textbooks could be incorporated into the national curriculum. After that, practitioners from both sides shared proposals and textbooks, and consistently discussed ways of integrating them. Following the signing of the MOA, HWPL continued to engage in dialogue and attended educational events hosted by the MoSHE.

A commemorative photo of Rosa Greenaway, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Antigua and Barbuda (left), following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with HWPL, on April 19, 2019

On April 19, 2019, in Antigua and Barbuda, an island country in the West Indies in the Americas, HWPL signed an MOA with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Antigua and Barbuda. The MOA was signed by Permanent Secretary Rosa Greenaway. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Antigua and Barbuda has 17 affiliated organizations, including national educational, international cooperative, state university, educational broadcasting, and school catering institutions. Antigua and Barbuda also established diplomatic ties with South and North Korea on November 1, 1981 and November 27, 1990 respectively.

A commemorative photo of government officials from the Commonwealth of Dominica and HWPL, following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and HWPL on April 23, 2021

On September 18, 2019, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development of the Commonwealth of Dominica, an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea, also signed an MOA with HWPL. The MOA was updated with supplementary content on April 23, 2021. The MOA was signed by Minister of Education and Human Resource Development Petter Saint-Jean, the former president of the Dominica Labor Party and both committee member and president of the Laplaine Credit Union. Mr. Saint-Jean is still active in education and serves as Acting Principal of Belles Government School. Through the MOA, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development made a commitment to conduct HWPL peace education, and to encourage leaders to adopt the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), an international peace law.

At an event during the 4th Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit in 2018, ministers of education from four countries sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with HWPL. Both MOAs and Memorandums of Understanding have continued in the field of academia in each country since then, drawing particular attention because government institutions adopted a civil organization's peace education through an official memorandum. The photo is of the Peace Education Development Forum for Global Advancement, where Chairman Man-hee Lee  (top right) is delivering a keynote speech, at the Songdo Ramada Hotel in Incheon on September 17, 2018

The content of the MOA was more specific than those signed with the four countries in 2018. It contains detailed information on the human networks, textbooks, and financial resources needed to conduct peace education.

HWPL decided to propose the basic curriculum for peace education, find experts for the development of peace education textbooks, and develop the curriculum. In addition, HWPL promised to jointly promote peace education projects globally and in particular, to promote successful peace education case studies to each country's education ministries and institutions. Furthermore, it was decided that priority would be given to every country's education ministry to participate in HWPL's annual peace event, and to provide HWPL's books on peace education, such as newsletters, flyers, and leaflets.

Educational ministries oversee all primary and secondary public and private educational institutions to formulate and recommend development plans for peace education research. The decision was also made to develop a criteria for allocating grants, student funds and other additional resources for peace education research and program development.

Moreover, the decision was made to revise and supplement the HWPL peace education curriculum according to each institution, and to integrate it into the peace education curriculum, or to create new subjects within the curriculum. For the development of peace education curriculum, an expert panel was recruited to review the textbook and form a group to collect the opinions of educational experts or related persons.

Finally, they decided to promote peace education to preserve public nature, create a sustainable environment, and encourage every educational institution to implement peace education programs, projects or activities. Each educational institution was encouraged to hold a peace event at least once a year, and each has agreed to carry out other necessary work until the final approval of peace education.

Peace!