Abstract

This is a qualitative case-study that focuses on a sample of Egyptian youth-led initiatives that are working in the field of peace-building within “Selmiyah” movement. These initiatives have a variety of activities and interventions, working with different age groups from children to adults and in different communities, addressing different aspects of the peace education; such as conflict resolution skills, environmental issues, community organizing, and development-related projects. Using interviews, participant observations and document reviews; the researcher was able to provide a deeper view of the background and perceptions of the founders of these initiatives and the movement, the motives for creating the initiatives, the methodology and philosophy of the initiatives, the financial and organizational sustainability and the added value behind joining the movement. “Selmiyah” is a movement that was created by a group of youth who wanted to create a platform for collaboration and advocacy among all the CSOs actively working within the peacebuilding field; the movement includes now more than forty groups and a thousand individuals. This research also explains the reasons behind the creation of Selmiyah as a movement, the added value it can bring, the dynamics and processes of Selmiyah and the future of the movement. From the findings a number of things can be concluded, first peace is a comprehensive value and accordingly peace education work addresses different aspects of society, on awareness, skills and practice levels. Second, there is a need within Egyptian society for the concepts and tools that are being introduced by the initiatives working to promote peace culture. Third, the initiatives that are working on the ground have spent extensive time and effort on structuring their theoretical frameworks and curricula to provide good quality, if not high quality, services to their communities. Fourth, sustainability is a key challenge and thus it can be extremely beneficial to collaborate through a movement structure.

Department

International & Comparative Education Department

Degree Name

MA in International & Comparative Education

Graduation Date

Fall 1-26-2015

Submission Date

January 2013

First Advisor

Skaggs, Jennifer

Second Advisor

NA

Third Advisor

NA

Committee Member 1

Barsoum, Ghada

Committee Member 2

NA

Committee Member 3

NA

Extent

166 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. The author has granted the American University in Cairo or its agents a non-exclusive license to archive this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study, and to make it accessible, in whole or in part, in all forms of media, now or hereafter known.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Comments

I would like to express my deep gratitude to my thesis supervisor Dr. Jennifer Skaggs who has continuously guided and inspired me through the Master’s program and specifically throughout this research, without her I wouldn’t have been able to reach this level of clarity and focus on my research topic and produce this paper. I would also like to thank my reader Dr. Ghada Barsoum for her encouraging and supporting feedback. I would on top like to thank my second reader Dr. Nagwa Megahed for her detailed and helpful feedback during the thesis proposal phase. I would also like to extend my thanks to Khalil El Masry, co-founder of Selmiyah movement who has welcomed me to the community and helped me throughout this whole research journey and continues to provide support in many ways. On that notion, I would like to thank all Selmiyans who have been very supportive to me throughout this research as well and special thanks to all the Selmiyans who agreed to be included in this research sample and shared many insights and feedback. I would also like to extend my thanks to the Dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE), Dr. Samiha Peterson and the entire faculty in GSE who have contributed in making this MA experience transformational to me and my colleagues. To my family I cannot but say that I would not have done this MA if it had not been for your continuous support and encouragement.

Download

Share

COinS