We are teachers, and we are against war!

The action addresses the issue of the increasing militarisation of the Slovenian school environment and encourages critical discussion on the inclusion of content related to the military, defence, and security in the educational system. Its main objective is to empower primary and secondary school teachers to critically address anti-militarist content within their pedagogical work.
The action will be carried out through the preparation and distribution of a professional brochure, the implementation of five film screenings with discussions, and the organisation of a one-day conference at which teachers will present examples of good practice. Based on the collected experience, a booklet with examples of good practice for further work in schools will also be produced.
The primary target group is teachers from primary and secondary schools, and indirectly also pupils and students who will be addressed by teachers in the classroom.

Through this action, we aim to encourage teachers to reflect on militarisation in schools and explore ways to address it critically. In addition, we want to encourage them to identify practices within their classrooms for integrating antimilitarist content into the hidden curriculum.

In this way, together with a large number of teachers, we will reach young people and enable them to critically assess state military propaganda rather than simply accepting the information presented to them without question.

The issue we are addressing is the widespread and growing militarisation taking place both in Slovenia and elsewhere. Militarisation serves no one, especially not young people, who are the first in line to come face to face with war. Young people therefore need to be protected by providing them with information that will enable them to critically assess the increasing presence of militarisation in our schools and society.

The activities will focus on informing primary and secondary school teachers about critically addressing antimilitarist content as part of their pedagogical work, thereby increasing critical reflection within the education system on the inclusion of content related to the military, defence, and security in education. 1 brochure (.pdf version) will be prepared, addressing the topic of militarisation and its presence in schools. It will be sent to more than 100 primary and secondary schools and to the Education, Science and Culture Trade Union of Slovenia (SVIZ), and will also be published online (link to the website). We will achieve at least 100 visits to the project website, where the PDF version of the brochure will be available.

70% of surveyed participants in the film screenings and discussion evening will report having gained new information about the impact of war and militarisation on young people and will recognise the importance of discussing these topics in the school environment. A series of film screenings (5) will be organised, comprising 5 film screenings with between 150 and 250 participants. Implementation will be documented through attendance lists, photographs, etc. After the events, participants will be encouraged to complete a short self-assessment questionnaire in which they will report on the new knowledge they have gained.

Teachers will acquire tools for integrating topics of peace, non-violence, and critical reflection on war into their pedagogical work. A conference (1) will be organised, consisting of 1 conference with between 70 and 100 participants. Implementation will be documented through an attendance list, photographs, PPT presentations, etc. The knowledge acquired by teachers will be assessed through a questionnaire in which participants will provide feedback on the knowledge gained after the event.

Schools will have access to high-quality materials for addressing the topics of peace and antimilitarism, contributing to more frequent and higher-quality coverage of these topics in the classroom. A booklet containing good practices in the field of education and antimilitarism will be sent to at least 100 schools and SVIZ (link to the website with the .pdf version, copy of the sent email). We will achieve at least 100 visits to the project website, where the PDF version of the booklet will be available.