The Center for Peace Education, along with other educators, found themselves in the midst of re-affirming the importance of peace education as fighting erupted in Marawi in late May. This re-affirmation happened during the seminars that were conducted by CPE last May. The seminars sought to educate the educators about nonviolence as a way of life, respect for human life and human dignity, and preventing violent conflict through social and economic justice, among other topics.
The CPE conducted the seminar-workshop for 14 Philippine colleges of education from May 24 to 25 with 26 participants in attendance. It was held at the ESI Conference Room. The opening message was given by Dr. Carmel Oracion, a member of the CHED technical committee for teacher education.
From May 29 to 30, the CPE teamed up with the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro (CDO), upon the invitation of Archbishop Tony Ledesma. The training was held in CDO with nearly 40 educators from both Catholic and public schools participating, aside from some archdiocesan ministry workers.
The latter seminar was especially significant given the situation in Marawi was just about a 150 kilometers away. At the end of the seminar, facilitators and participants agreed that violence was not the answer to that problem.