“Together for Peace” was the title of the first lesson of the 2024 – 2025 school year in the Republic of Moldova delivered in all primary, secondary and high schools of Moldova and prepared with the support of the Council of Europe.

Placed in the context of Moldova’s European integration and founded on the idea that the European Union has been the most successful peace project in human history, as well as reverberating with the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine, the first lesson tackled the notions of European unity and peace and was based on the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.

The Council of Europe supported the development of lesson plans and information materials for class heads of all grades. In addition, the Council of Europe delivered a series of preparatory on-line training workshops for school managers and teachers, which were attended by about 2815 educators.

The lessons were interactive and included case studies, short videos and group activities intended to encourage a diversity of opinions and a process of critical analysis and reflection among the pupils. Their development and delivery has been an opportunity to engage both the pupils and the educators – class heads who are teachers of different subjects, in a critical reflection on such Council of Europe values and principles as peace, democracy, human rights, solidarity, diversity, and the ways in which these values can be promoted and developed in schools.

The Council of Europe has also supported the development of a video story which was shown in all schools and in which school children from different ethnic minorities of Moldova, as well as an Ukrainian refugee child, speak about peace and Europe.

In a statement made on the occasion of the beginning of the school year, the Moldovan Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun stated: “it is very important to respect every human life, to love our own country but also to respect the values of others, to find compromises and to build good neighborhood relations…The education system has an extremely important role in cultivating these values and this is what we intend to do within the first lesson of the school year, but also within the entire education process which starts today.”

The lesson plans and PPT presentations in the Romanian and Russian languages may be found on the website of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova.

The Council of Europe project “Education for democracy in the Republic of Moldova" is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova within the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024. The Swiss Confederation is one of the donor countries to the Action Plan and the key donor in the field of education for democracy.