Institute Philosophy 
Purpose
The institutional and social purposes of the IIPE are directed toward the development of the field of peace education in theory, practice and advocacy. In addition to the important learning of contextually relevant issues and pedagogical approaches, the purposes of the IIPE are threefold. First, the IIPE seeks to further develop the substance of peace education through exploration of new and challenging themes to contribute to the on-going development of the field – each year focusing on issues and educational frameworks, particularly relevant to the host institution and region. Second, the IIPE seeks to build strategic international institutional alliances among universities and agencies involved in peace education thereby increasing the benefits of shared expertise on substance and practice as well as advancing educational reform initiatives. Finally, the IIPE works to encourage regional cooperation toward the maximization of resources, cooperation in pedagogical and substantive developments and increasing regional perspectives on the global issues that comprise the content of peace education. This is accomplished through significant involvement of regional organizations and participants with an annual goal of 50% of the participants from the region.
Participation & Process
The Institute draws on the experiences and insights of diverse peace educators and advocates from all world regions helping us learn from each other's experiences and strategies in achieving human rights and women's rights, working towards demilitarization, and resolving conflicts. It attempts to practice the principles of peace education by engaging all in the short term learning community in an experience of participatory learning in which all can learn from all the other participants. As such, the program is made as participatory as possible, where all presenters and participants are requested to make every effort to create an inclusive, highly interactive climate in all parts of the program.
Each component of the program serves a particular function in the learning experience of the Institute: the orientation, the plenaries, the workshops and seminars, the excursions and the reflection groups. At the orientation participants are introduced to the purposes and process of IIPE, beginning the process of acquaintance from which we will build our learning community. The plenaries provide a common substance for all in the community and a basis for the specific consideration of some of the workshops and seminars. The excursions permit us to have some direct experience of our host country, its landscapes and the issues of justice and peace which ts citizens are addressing. The reflection groups are the heart of the learning experience, the base at which we share our daily learnings and reflect upon how we will apply them in our respective professional and personal lives.
The workshops are intended to be participatory, hands on sessions that provide participants with practical strategies and materials for educating others about the theme issues and or practical action strategies to deal with the problems at hand as well as some knowledge of the issues. The participants are usually a mix of educators and activists, some graduate students and representatives of agencies and NGOs.
In the daily plenary panels participants hear various perspectives on theme issues. We also try to make these as participatory as possible, calling for the formation of group questions and comments rather than the traditional Q&A.
The reflection groups meet daily to allow participants to share their learnings and help each other to think through possible application of these learnings to their own respective situations. Participants meet with the same reflection group throughout the entire length of IIPE and present group reports in the last plenary.