From September through December 2008, IREX conducted 56 Conflict Management and Civic Education (CM/CE) trainings for 107 youth between the ages of 17 and 24 representing five North Caucasus republics as part of the USAID-funded Youth Initiative for the Promotion of Peace (YIPP) program. YIPP is a three-year program that constructively engages disenfranchised youth by providing them with new skills and opportunities for economic progress and community involvement. To this end, YIPP activities include vocational training, sports and leaderships camps, community development, and access to information.
The CM/CE trainings were conducted by qualified trainers in each region to foster inter-ethnic tolerance and develop negotiation and conflict mediation skills among youth while teaching them about civic engagement, encouraging them to participate in community life, and providing them with tools to address community problems and become decision-makers. For many CM/CE training participants, the trainings were their first opportunity to experience an interactive workshop that combined theory with practical activities.
To measure the impact of the trainings, participants completed pre- and post-training surveys that asked them about their understanding of different ethnic groups. The percent of respondents who graded their awareness of other cultures as “poor” decreased from 23.5% to 9.1% between the pre- and post-training surveys, while the percent of respondents who rated their knowledge of other cultures and traditions as “strong” increased from 29.6% in the initial survey to 37.4% in the final survey. When asked if their respect for other cultures increased, 72.4% of participants selected “increased and increased significantly.”
Rasul Dzhemakulov, a 16-year-old CM/CE training participant from Erkin-Shakhar in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, underscored the importance of tolerance for the youth of the North Caucasus: “I live in the most multi-national district of Erkin-Shakhar, so the topics of ethnic conflict and positive solutions are pertinent to my daily life,” he explained. “I am sure that the conflict resolution skills we acquired during these trainings will serve us well in the long term.”
The pre-and post-training survey also asked participants about their self-confidence and leadership ability. At the end of the trainings, 86.6% of the respondents reported that their self-esteem and leadership ability had increased or increased significantly as a result of the trainings.
Leila Evloeva, a 16-year-old who attended the CM/CE trainings in Ingushetia, noted the impact of the program on her self-esteem. “I became more open towards other people, got rid of my fear of communication, and more importantly, I became more active in the social life of my college,” she explained. “I understood how much potential and unrealized possibilities each person has. I realized that I can not only change my own life for the better, but also the lives of the people around me.”
