Learning conflict resolution at school : the Sabona approach

Abstract

This study concerns Sabona, a conflict resolution program at school, which is theoretically and practically developed by Johan Galtung with the help of a group of practitioners. Sabona is built theoretically and methodologically on the Transcend conflict transformation concept, and belongs to the Transcend network. Sabona is claimed to be a conflict hygiene program at school, and develops a set of conflict transformative tools and norms, and provides a continuous non-violence oriented development of the school society. It promotes a peace culture and state of mind, and acts as a set of preventive measures against chaos and violence through empathy, creativity, and non-violence. According to the teachers involved, Sabona has achieved visible results since its start. On the basis of my observations, I make a brief SWOT analysis of Sabona, its strong and weak sides, as well as possibilities for its further development from micro to macro level. I conclude that Sabona`s ideology, concepts and instruments contribute to the development of a culture of peace in school settings, and represent a new level of peace education programs, which can be summarized with the term ‘conflict hygiene’.