GCRD, UNITAR and Bard College Form Global Partnership to Advance Peacebuilding Education
A new trilateral agreement commits the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Bard College and the Global Centre for Rehumanising Democracy to a shared programme of peacebuilding education that begins with “We the People.”
London, United Kingdom – From the war in Ukraine to conflict in the Gulf and the wider Middle East, and from Sudan to the Sahel, the world now faces more simultaneous crises than at any point in a generation. This multitude of hotspots, intensified by disinformation and declining public trust, demands new approaches to conflict management, media literacy and the strengthening of democratic life. Peace can no longer be treated as the business of governments alone; it must be built by prepared citizens, in communities.
It is in this context that the Global Centre for Rehumanising Democracy (GCRD), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Bard College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop joint education and civic engagement initiatives in peacebuilding, democratic renewal and leadership. Initial areas of collaboration include peacebuilding and conflict transformation, democratic leadership development, and civic engagement and social action.
The first planned initiative is an international certificate programme now being developed by the three institutions. Designed for peacebuilders, civic leaders, journalists, policymakers, faith leaders, educators and social innovators, it will prepare participants to respond to conflict, democratic erosion, disinformation and social fragmentation through approaches that are intellectually rigorous and rooted in the realities of communities. The programme will combine online learning with live expert sessions, practitioner mentoring and an applied capstone project addressing a real challenge in a participant’s own community or institution.
A distinctive emphasis will be placed on building peace in complex information environments, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Participants will work with GCRD’s Democracy Discourse Index, which uses human-trained AI to assess the quality of public discourse across empathy, civility, trust language and democratic agency.
“Lasting peace cannot only be negotiated between governments. It must also be cultivated within communities. It takes special awareness and skill for individual citizens to lead this effort, and our job is to provide the tools that advance that progress at scale. This partnership reflects our shared conviction that the future of peacebuilding lies in equipping people, not only states and institutions, to rebuild trust, strengthen democracy and help heal divided societies.”
A wider framework
The partnership brings together complementary strengths: UNITAR’s global experience in capacity development and applied learning, Bard College’s longstanding commitment to civic engagement and liberal education, and GCRD’s work at the intersection of democratic renewal, civic innovation and leadership formation. Beyond the certificate programmes, the MoU provides a platform for future joint training, convenings and civic engagement resources.
Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob, GCRD’s Founding Executive Director, said the first joint certificate, developed in close collaboration with Bard College and UNITAR, is a groundbreaking international graduate certificate programme that will equip citizens worldwide to lead the vital work of peacebuilding and democratic renewal in an age of fracture and AI-enhanced disinformation. Application dates for the first cohort will be announced in the coming weeks. Please contact us to express interest.
About the partners
UNITAR is an autonomous body within the United Nations, established in 1965, with a mission to develop the capacities of countries and UN stakeholders through high-quality learning solutions that support action on global challenges.
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, with civic engagement at the core of its institutional mission, building partnerships that address local, national, and global problems and reach underserved populations.
The Global Centre for Rehumanising Democracy is a UK-based think-act-teach tank that combines deep analysis, principled civic action and leadership formation to restore moral clarity, trust and human dignity to democratic life.
