CISV offers a fun and exciting experience, but there is a lot more to us than that. Our international programmes are based on sound educational principles and objectives and our peace education curriculum. Our purpose is to educate and inspire individuals to become active and contributing members of a peaceful society - active global citizens. We aim to stimulate the life-long development of amicable relationships, effective communication, co-operation and leadership skills. We use an active, experiential 'learning by doing' approach to deliver our peace education, which makes learning fun and memorable. We are fully committed to our educational goals. As a result, we also take research seriously in order to assess our educational impact. 

Peace Education

Peace education provides us with the attitudes, skills and knowledge to become agents of change, locally and globally. Though peace education, CISV seeks to educate and inspire our participants to become ‘active global citizens’ working towards a more just and peaceful world.  Peace education looks at local and global issues that are relevant to us all, recognising that peace can mean much more than the absence of war. In fact, peace education encourages us to look at a wide range of issues and helps us gain a better understanding of:
  • our own identity within the local and global community
  • basic human rights as well as forms of exploitation and injustice
  • conflicts and how they can be caused, prevented and resolved
  • sustainable solutions for environmental and development issues

CISV educational principles

educational principles
Our educational principles underpin all of our educational programmes and activities. 
  • We appreciate the similarities between people and value their differences.
  • We support social justice and equality of opportunity for all.
  • We encourage the resolution of conflict through peaceful means.
  • We support the creation of sustainable solutions to problems relating to our impact upon each other and the natural environment.
Our educational principles have a direct link to our four Peace Education Content Areas, on which all of our programmes are based.

Building Global Friendship

The possibility of becoming friends with people of different backgrounds and life experiences is an essential part of CISV peace education. The situations on our programs encourage us to consciously consider and question our own attitudes and values. In this way, we are expanding our view of the world, increasing our self-awareness and being more aware of the needs of others. CISV is confident that promoting friendships between people of different nationalities, genders, age groups, appearances, cultures and classes is an essential building block for peace.

CISV participants make friends around the world to learn from each other and take positive action to a more just and peaceful world.