The day after our international conference Shared Space, Shared Future: A Multi-Level Approach to Youth-Led Reconciliation and Social Cohesion, our visit to Berlin offered a multi-layered exploration of contemporary peacebuilding practices through engagements with three institutions operating at the intersection of policy, education, and social research: the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), CRISP – Crisis Simulation for Peace e.V., and the Center for Independent Social Research (CISR). Each visit opened a unique window into how peace and conflict are addressed—ranging from deploying experts in conflict zones, to facilitating learning through simulation games, to deconstructing militarized worldviews through critical social research.
ZIF – Center for International Peace Operations: From Missions to Mandates
At ZIF, we were welcomed by Dr. Annika Hansen, an expert with over three decades of experience in international peace operations. Her extensive background—ranging from field missions in Libya and Bosnia to strategic work at the UN headquarters in New York—offered a powerful introduction to how peace operations have evolved over time.
We learned that ZIF plays a central role in Germany’s civilian contributions to peace missions across the globe. While the UN remains the largest actor in this field, the EU, OSCE, NATO, and African Union also deploy missions, often in increasingly complex environments. ZIF is responsible for preparing, training, and seconding German civilian experts and election observers to these missions. Their work spans Ukraine, Georgia, Somalia, Lebanon, Colombia, and many other hotspots. ZIF’s training approach stood out for its realism and emphasis on emotional resilience: from simulated roadblocks to hostage scenarios, participants are placed under stress to assess their readiness.
We also discussed how ZIF’s work now extends to cutting-edge topics such as cyber resilience, misinformation, climate-security links, and women’s participation in peace processes. The organization not only trains individuals but also serves as a policy resource for the German Parliament, providing briefings, reports, and strategic advice. ZIF’s growing role in convening civil society perspectives in peacekeeping further illustrates its commitment to inclusive, adaptive, and forward-thinking peace practice.
CRISP – Crisis Simulation for Peace: Learning through Role Play and Street Dialogue
Our next stop was CRISP, where we explored peace education through the lens of simulation gaming. CRISP develops interactive role-play scenarios that allow participants to experience complex conflicts from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Their games are used widely in civic education, youth work, and diplomacy, enabling participants to test negotiation strategies, experience power asymmetries, and reflect on conflict dynamics in a safe but immersive setting.
Photos: Maryna Bykova
During our visit, Project Coordinator Mohamed Najib Rahmi explained how CRISP is adapting their methodology to engage with current issues like AI, disinformation, and public trust. Their new project focuses on combating disinformation by involving everyday citizens in street-level interventions and cultural diplomacy. By taking peace education out of institutional settings and into public spaces, CRISP fosters accessible, participatory learning that builds critical media literacy and resilience against polarizing narratives.
We also spoke about facilitation tips—how to manage diverse groups, encourage reflective learning, and adapt roles and debriefing techniques. CRISP’s work demonstrates how experiential education can be both highly structured and deeply creative, particularly in polarised or transitional societies.
CISR – Center for Independent Social Research: Demilitarising Minds in the Post-Soviet Space
Our final visit brought us to CISR, an organization rooted in critical social science and focused on conflict transformation, urban citizenship, and migration. The discussion centered on their ongoing project, Demilitarising Mind – Supporting Peace, which explores how militarized narratives are embedded in post-Soviet societies and seeks to promote alternative, peace-oriented perspectives.
The project includes a summer school in Mtskheta, Georgia, which brings together participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine—a diverse and politically sensitive group. Through workshops, personal storytelling, and joint reflection, the program challenges dominant militaristic discourses and supports the co-creation of educational resources that promote a culture of peace. The goal is not only to provide a space for dialogue, but also to foster regional networks of young people and educators who can influence broader social imaginaries around war, nationalism, and peace.
CISR’s approach is slow, reflective, and grounded in deep context sensitivity. Unlike rapid-response missions or globalized training modules, their work builds long-term capacity for critical thought and social change. It serves as a reminder that peacebuilding must also happen at the level of individual worldviews, collective memory, and social narratives.
Photos: Maryna Bykova
Conclusion: Complementary Approaches for Complex Realities
The combination of these three study visits showed us how multifaceted peacebuilding really is. At ZIF, we encountered institutional structures and policies that shape global missions. At CRISP, we explored creative pedagogies that bring abstract issues to life. At CISR, we reflected on how internalized narratives can perpetuate conflict—and how they might be unlearned.
While each organization operates differently, they all recognize that sustainable peace cannot be imposed from above or engineered in isolation. It must be nurtured through diverse tools: expert deployments, immersive learning, inclusive dialogue, and critical thinking. Together, these visits offered not only insight, but inspiration to imagine more integrated, participatory, and reflective approaches to peace.
Photo: Culture Goes Europe
The conference “Shared Space, Shared Future: A Multi-Level Approach to Youth-Led Reconciliation and Social Cohesion“ is part of The Missing Peace project, co-funded by the European Union through Leargas – Irish National Agency (Project number: 2022-2-IE01-KA220-YOU-000096690).
