History

Boğazici University Peace Education, Application and Research Centre (BUPERC) was established in 2007 as the first Peace Education centre in a university setting in Turkey. Based on the logic, that solving conflicts by non-violent methods and spreading a culture of peace are of vital importance since we live in a World where war, terror and violence are widespread in every part of life. Peace Education involves trainings in effective and non-violent communication, empathy building, respect for human rights, conflict resolution methods, and anger management; it introduces awareness of one’s own prejudices and thus helps developing critical thinking. It has been proved that such trainings increase emotional intelligence and help to establish a culture of peace.

Peace Education can be regarded as preventive medicine. Peace starts and spreads from within family relationships to the wider community and the whole world; Peace Education should start at a very early age and continue for a lifetime. So it is essential to integrate Peace Education at all levels of the education system.

BUPERC works towards this goal by organising seminars, conferences, conducting research and trainings for students, teachers and NGOs on related topics; during these activities it encourages cooperation between academics, non-governmental organizations, the media, teachers and students.

The main mission of BUPERC is to work towards and try to contribute to the creation of a culture of peace in our environment.