Career in peace building

Ranjan K Baruah *

All of us want to live in peace and in a place where there is no conflict or violence. In spite of our will there are many places which have disturbances due to many reasons. Armed conflicts and other forms of violence have been witnessed by people around the world. Last century has witnessed two most devastating wars which are known as World Wars.

Following the devastation of the Second World War, the United Nations was established to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. One of its purposes is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, including by promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognize, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way.

The UN General-Assembly, in its resolution 72/130, declared 16th May the International Day of Living Together in Peace, as a means of regularly mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity. The Day aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony.

1st September is also observed as International day of peace and 2nd October as day of non violence. Well, our readers may be wondering why we are mentioning days instead of careers. The aim is simple and it means there are scopes and opportunities for people who want to work for peace building or peacemaking around the world. There are special courses after completing graduation related to peace and conflict studies.

It is preferable for students completing subjects like political science or similar to take up courses related to peace and conflict studies. Graduates from other disciplines may also take up full time master degree courses or post graduate diploma related to peacemaking.

Few universities also offer PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies. Few other courses includes
o MA in Conflict Analysis and Peace Building,
o PG diploma in Conflict Management and Development,
o PG diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peace building,
o MA in Peace and Conflict Studies,
o PG diploma in Gandhian Non-violent Conflict Resolution,
o Master in Humanitarian Action and Peace Building,
o Master in Prevention, Arbitration & Conflict Resolution,
o Diploma in Negotiation, Mediation and Conflict Resolution,
o Diploma in Mediation and Conflict Resolution, etc .

There are few free online courses for the beginners to get ideas about the courses.

Aspirants may get jobs in different research institutes related to peace studies, teaching in colleges and universities, involvement with civil society organizations, work with international organizations like the United Nations and its special agencies dealing with peace, human rights, etc.

All those who want to work with international agencies may also start learning foreign languages from the initial period to excel in their careers. Young people from the North East may take it up as the region is transforming currently.

Though conflict has not ended completely, many positive changes have taken place in the last few years. With proper analysis many positive changes can be brought to the region.

Apart from having formal qualification and degrees, it is also important to have other required employability skills to be successful in this field. One should be passionate about travelling and meeting people if they want to work in the field of peacemaking.

During the lockdown period, aspirants may explore online courses related to peacemaking and conflict studies and finish a few online courses for enhancing their careers.