The full-scale war in Ukraine has been ongoing for over four years, bringing new challenges to the education system. Under these conditions, supporting children, building psychological resilience, and fostering the values of peace have become especially important.
237 educators completed the online HWPL 3rd Peace Educator Training Program in Ukraine (December 2025 – March 2026), obtaining the status of HWPL Peace Education Educators. The training was implemented by the international peace organization HWPL, registered with the UN ECOSOC, in cooperation with regional and city education departments, higher and secondary educational institutions, with the participation of educational and civic organizations. Over the course of three months, participants studied the theoretical foundations of peace education and received practical tools for working with students of different ages.
The HWPL peace education program is conducted in 112 countries with the goal of spreading a culture of peace, using the 12-lesson textbook to foster gratitude, respect and care. In Ukraine, since 2023, around 1,000 school and university students have graduated from the course each year.
Several educators who completed the training shared their stories of how they applied the knowledge they gained in practice by conducting a course of peace lessons.
Oleksandra Muratova, Vice Principal of Dnipro Gymnasium No. 140, together with seven teachers conducted a peace lesson course for 169 primary and middle school students. In the Sumy region, librarian Olena Vlasova from Konotop Higher Vocational School helps students find inner peace and support. In the Kharkiv region, primary school teacher Oksana Holtvianichenko from Artilskyi Lyceum works with children in a frontline area.
Despite different cities, educational institutions, and professional backgrounds, they are united by a common desire to teach peace to young people even under difficult conditions when, the war is felt every day.
What Motivated Ukrainian Educators to Join the Peace Education Training
The participants of the training joined peace education from different backgrounds, but with one common desire to support children and young people during the difficult time of war.
Oleksandra Muratova said: “I was motivated by the desire to better understand how to build a culture of peace among students, especially during wartime. It was also important to gain practical tools for working with children’s emotions, experiences, and feelings.”
“This initiative immediately sparked my sincere professional interest because I constantly communicate with students and understand the extraordinary importance of spreading the values of peace and mutual understanding in modern society,” Olena Vlasova shared.
Oksana Holtvianichenko added: “I joined this training to help our 6–7-year-old children understand what peace is. After all, in their conscious lives they do not remember peaceful days.”
How Peace Education Works Every Day
The work of educators in Ukraine takes place under difficult conditions: air raid alarms, power outages, and constant emotional stress.
At the same time, Oksana Holtvianichenko is convinced that “even the regular use of parts of these lesson materials in educational activities should positively influence the formation of children as citizens of peace.”
After completing the training, educators began implementing peace education in their institutions and using different approaches in their daily work to convey the values of peace.
Oleksandra Muratova uses interactive exercises, role-playing games, and discussions: “Students respond very actively to peace lessons. They open up, share their thoughts and experiences. Especially impressive are the moments when children begin supporting one another and show more understanding.”
Oksana Holtvianichenko adapts the lessons to a remote format for 6–7-year-old children, using role-playing games and discussion methods for conflict resolution, and applies elements of peace education in almost all lessons.
Olena Vlasova works through dialogue and sincere communication and noticed that students became more attentive to one another, say “thank you” more often, show greater respect toward teachers, have fewer conflicts, and learn to listen.
Mental Support During War and an Investment in Ukraine’s Post-War Recovery
Peace education is gradually reaching different educational environments in Ukraine — from preschools and schools to vocational and higher education — and is becoming mental support today and a vital investment in the future.
Olena Vlasova says: “In wartime, peace education becomes not simply an academic subject, but vital armor for a child’s soul.”Such lessons “help young people maintain inner balance, support one another, and learn to respond to difficult circumstances without aggression.”
The educator plans to create a “peace hub” in the library — a space where students will be able to receive support and restore inner balance. She emphasizes that Ukraine needs not only specialists, but conscious “citizens of peace” who know how to reach agreement, respect the law, and build sincere relationships.
Oksana Holtvianichenko notes the effect of peace lessons: “After the lessons, children usually feel much calmer,” and states that under conditions of full-scale war: “Peace education will help children preserve psychological resilience and national identity. It forms critical thinking and values necessary for post-war recovery, democratic development, and rebuilding the social cohesion of society.”
Oleksandra Muratova notes that during wartime, peace lessons help reduce anxiety levels, improve the atmosphere in the classroom, and contribute to students’ emotional stability. She is convinced: “After the war, these children will become the foundation of the country’s recovery. Peace education is not only about teaching, but about inner change, inspiration, and a new perspective on the role of education.”
Photo: from the archive of Maria Zakharchenko