WORLD PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Diploma Programme and the IB Career-related Programme for students aged 15 to 19, the IB Middle Years Programme for students aged 11 to 16, and the IB Primary Years Programme for children aged 3 to 12. To teach these programmes, schools must be authorised by the International Baccalaureate. There are two common conceptions of peace: Negative Peace, or actual peace, and Positive Peace. Negative Peace is known as ‘the absence of violence and absence of fear of violence”. Positive Peace is defined as the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. The IB develops inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education that builds intercultural understanding and respect. IB promotes intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century. Achieving world peace requires effort from every individual. It calls for tolerance, a caring attitude and empathy towards others, amongst many other things. Developing citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world lies at the heart of an IB education. Students recognize that they have a responsibility to make a change in the world and apply the IB Learner Profile to make a difference. Each year the International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on 21 September. This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all.