Kenya | Decolonising Peace Education in Africa

Peacebuilding Through Higher Education in Emergencies

The Kenyan project was led by Professor Barbara Moser-Mercer and saw a collaboration between The African Higher Education in Emergencies Network (AHEEN), Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK) and Youth Education & Sports (YES).

A group of people stand in a circle outdoors, leaning in with their hands extended toward the centre during a group activity, with others watching nearby in a courtyard surrounded by stone and white buildings.

By blending sports, applied arts, and community‑based activities, the Integrative SEL approach strengthens both the physical and emotional well‑being of participants.

Project Introduction

In this project, we aimed to empower youth in protracted and acute conflict settings to participate in bringing about constructive change at the local level using our pedagogical model of Integrative Social‑Emotional Learning (Integrative SEL). This approach was supported by a human‑development‑oriented framework for educating people about peace and social justice issues through social integration as a precursor to social cohesion.

The Integrative SEL model was delivered in two contexts: firstly, as a required module for students participating in AHEEN’s formal higher education programme in the Kakuma/Kalobeyei refugee camp in Kenya; and secondly, as part of AHEEN’s non‑formal higher education intervention supporting the Tigray emergency response in the Tunaydbah and Um Rakuba refugee camps in Sudan.

Circular diagram to show the sports and applied arts program components around a core component of community engineering

The Integrative SEL approach supports both physical and emotional well‑being.

By combining sports, applied arts, and community‑based activities, the Integrative SEL approach supports both the physical and emotional well‑being of participants. It builds on the knowledge and peace‑building skills of local community members, adapts well to both long‑term and sudden crises, and helps participants develop the core skills they need to rebuild their communities, whether they remain displaced or eventually return home. Using arts, sports, and basic engineering skills helps meet the key needs of communities living in displacement. These activities can also support deeper, long‑term change by recognising the identities of marginalised groups and helping to address social and cultural inequalities in refugee‑hosting countries.

Project Methodology

The Applied Arts part of the Integrative SEL (Social Emotional Learning) model trains applied arts practitioners and encourages responsible citizenship. It gives participants chances to act as ambassadors in their communities by creating and running regular creative projects. These refugee‑led projects use the arts to explore shared stories and celebrate differences. They support peacebuilding and help learners develop practical skills they can use within their communities.

Workshop findings on a chalk board, photo taken by the researcher

The Integrative SEL (Social Emotional Learning) model trains applied arts practitioners and encourages responsible citizenship.

The Arts projects connect people constructively by giving them a shared goal in the creative processes, and empower communities to create positive and peaceful linkages and connections between diverse individuals and across languages and cultures. The Arts honour everyone’s uniqueness and level the group as they gather around a common goal of creation. As they learn to listen, communicate clearly and respectfully, compromise, and resolve conflicts within the creative process, they develop the transferrable skills needed for creating outside peaceful communities that are equipped to resolve conflicts.

Kenya Project poster from the DEPA Event

Go to a NORRAG publication featuring our work on the DEPA project

Educational Resources

Building the Creative Economy in Africa Short Course

Banner for the Creative Economy course showing a colourful map of Africa

This short course helps artists and teachers use their culture to make meaningful work and earn money.

Based on research from 16 projects in 14 African countries. The course has two parts and six short units. It shows how to:

Turn creative ideas into a business
Find customers and markets
Work with others and build networks
Plan for long‑term, sustainable work

The course has videos, simple activities, reflection questions and real case studies. You can use it in a studio, classroom or community space. By the end, students will understand the creative economy and feel more confident using their culture in their work.

Go to Creative Economy Sho rt Cou rse

Three Module Course for Applied Arts Practitioners

A line of people stand outdoors on sandy ground, participating in an activity together, with sparse trees in the background and a teacher wearing a brightlytraditional outfit at the end of the line.

The Arts honour everyone’s uniqueness

This course stems from the first phase of our participatory action research, where refugee students created a problem‑tree analysis to explore what peace meant in their own lives. From this work, they mapped the skills they believed every refugee needed to live peacefully with others.

Building on the problem‑tree analysis, each of the three course components focus on the areas most likely to strengthen the social and emotional skills that support well‑being and peaceful coexistence. These areas also align with recognised drivers of social cohesion in fragile contexts and form the learning outcomes for this Integrative SEL elective.

The curriculum covers a 3-month period with on-line and on-site classes. Facilitators are trained to support the on-site classes which are hands-on and accompany students on their journey to using assets from their community to design and develop sustainable solutions.

Learn more about the AHEEN-DEPA Educational Materials