By World BEYOND War, October 11, 2024
On October 9th, World BEYOND War’s Education Director, Dr. Phill Gittins, spoke at a “Youth Violence Awareness & Reduction Conference 2024” in Birmingham, England. The conference gathered a diverse array of stakeholders, including educators, youth workers, police officers, youth justice professionals, researchers, academics, and family members of young individuals who lost their lives to violence. The keynotes, workshops, and discussions centred around questions, challenges, and potential solutions to this critical issue.
Phill was invited to contextualise the event’s thematic focus by delivering some opening remarks. He posed a guiding question for the day: How can we move towards a culture of peace and nonviolence? He also facilitated a visualisation exercise and went on to make connections between youth violence in schools and communities and the broader culture of war and violence, drawing on lessons from practice, research, and publications.
