Talks about WW3 have become so commonplace, and conjectures on nuclear war so trivial, that nobody takes them seriously any more, aside, perhaps, from the deeply-versed-in-reality political scientists. Yet, our current, already unrecognizable, world simply must do something substantial and wisely practicable to avoid such a calamity and to maintain peace. There are a number of ways out there to do so, but only one stands out as the sharpest and smartest in the long run, and that is education! Yes, education oriented on peaceful coexistence on our planet!
Conventional thinking has it that only salable education is worth spending time, money, nerves and energy on. A Georgian student, whether they go to school here in Sakartvelo or anywhere else in the world, is compelled to double-down to acquire the kind of knowledge that can be easily, securely and gainfully marketed. Otherwise, future success might come into doubt. A college diploma as such is today valuable only in conjunction with employment potential, which itself is commensurable with the prestige and fame of the higher education institution studied in. In other words, the higher the rating of the university, the bigger the chance to find, with the help of its diploma, a desirable and lucrative job. That’s not to say, of course, that paradoxes are never seen; that a Harvard, Oxford or Sorbonne graduate might remain unemployed, whereas a Tbilisi State University alumnus may get lucky enough to make a fortune.
I mean no offense, of course – we all know quite well that those famous money-making American or European diplomas are not easy to earn. All of them are awful time-consumers, so much so that, I have heard, a student’s personal life becomes practically devoid of any pleasurable pastime.
This is the overall picture worldwide. Yet, not much consideration is given to the presumption that no diploma, no knowledge, no degree, no qualification can only be good and productive if there is no peace in the world, and that is why we have to study the art of making peace. Given that the current generation of decision-making politicians and diplomats have turned out to be incapable of maintaining said global peace, having recently plunged into war atrocities, each of them insisting on their own truth and fairness, it is high time for the global academic world to start coining not only money-generating diplomas and certificates, but also ones that make peace.
Education must promote understanding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among the nations, using its power to lessen the probability of wars by nurturing critical thinking in the young, and giving impetus to sincere discourse and interchange. Education has the ability to prop and drive nonviolent societies and governments. It is crucial in our perilous times that universities, with deliberate consistency and continuity, develop interpersonal skills and values of peacebuilding in their students, in addition to the professional ability they are ready to provide.
If promoting peace, via building confidence and independent thinking, nursing problem-solving communication skills, and laying the foundation for political involvement, means anything, then a university, as the most outstanding educational institution, must be prepared to give the world young men and women with the ability to reduce support of militancy, violence and terrorism, build empathy and tolerance, and cultivate mutual respect between the nations, rather than opting for war to solve international issues.
As the Human Rights Convention would have it, education must prepare the young for a responsible life and effective participation in a free society, in a spirit of understanding, peace and tolerance. It could be proudly stated that there is an educational institution in Georgia which is working with its students in letter and spirit of this valuable postulate, and that is the Sokhumi State University, headed by Professor Zurab Khonelidze. The university teaches it as one of its core subjects, created by Khonelidze in the form of a book under the very curious title of ‘The University Diplomacy’, and they intend to do one of the courses in English. The book, already translated into many languages, is quickly gathering popularity all over the world, attracting the attention of the international community, who think that the peaceful development of humankind is absolutely in the hands of the future generation who is diligently studying peace, its secrets, problems and benefits.
Op-Ed by Nugzar B. Ruhadze
