Category:

Human Rights

Subcategory:

Conflict Resolution

Title:

Conflict Webs

Author:

Amnesty International

Background:

Aims:

This drawing activity helps children to analyze conflicts of rights using their own experience.

Learning points:

- Sometimes people are in situations where their rights come into conflict.

- These conflicts can be resolved peacefully.

What you need:

Blackboard, or a big piece of paper

Time:

Forty-five minutes

Description:

How to do it:

~ In the middle of the paper/board write the word "conflict" in a circle. Ask the class what they think the word means.

~ Ask for memories or thoughts it evokes. Each time something is suggested, draw a solid line from the main circle and add the word or phrase that has been suggested. When children begin to suggest ideas, which are related to ideas already suggested, link them to the appropriate previous suggestion, not the main circle. Continue while interest remains high.

~ At the end, ask the questions below, which draw out some general ideas about conflict.

Other Information:

Questions:

How could we define "conflict"?

~ What do the conflicts we identified have in common? What causes conflicts?

~ What makes them worse? What prevents or solves conflicts?

~ In the examples, whose rights are ignored by who? Which rights?

Choices:

As a project ask the class to keep a diary of conflicts that they see for a week. Ask them to identify conflicts that are solved in a useful way, conflicts which waste a lot of time, or which recur a lot. It may be useful to sort these conflicts into categories. For example, friendly/angry, simple/confusing, violent/nonviolent. Tell the class that stepping back from a conflict and analyzing it is a first step for solving it in a way that respects the rights of everyone involved.

~ For more detailed analysis, ask the class about specific parts of the conflicts they recorded. For example:

Could these solutions have been better? Or worse?