Disarmament through TV: peace education in Albania.

On 9 June 2004, Top Channel TV, the most respected television station in Albania, hosted a national debate on its popular "Top Show" programme, which dealt with issues of arms control and education for disarmament. Such a topic is relevant in the Albanian context, particularly after the crisis of 1997 when people looted weapons as State institutions collapsed. Participants in the show included various personalities, United Nations staff, and civil society and police personnel.

On the issue of arms control, some participants argued that the best control strategy would be to hand over weapons freely to people and let them take care of their own security. The main reason given for this argument was that the United States has a similar policy towards guns: however, it was countered easily. An increase in weapons increases insecurity. The United States experience teaches us that gun ownership could contribute to escalating rather than reducing violence. After that segment, discussions centred on the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima (Japan) and the danger of nuclear proliferation and how it makes the world less secure. Speakers focused not only on the possibility of individuals or States getting hold of nuclear weapons but also the danger posed by the five official and three unofficial nuclear-weapon States. The threat to security posed by the global channeling of funds towards military instead of civilian use was explored. It was also argued that such a threat hinders human development and provides the necessary infrastructure for future wars and conflict.

The debate also touched on United Nations efforts towards disarmament and peace education in Albania. A representative from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) talked about the important contribution made to the physical removal of weapons in the country through its Weapons in Exchange for Development Programme, which provides community-based infrastructure in exchange for weapons collected. Education for peace and disarmament was discussed as a way of sustaining the physical removal of weapons. In particular, a joint project between the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs and the civil society organization Hague Appeal for Peace aims to sustain the physical removal of weapons through peace education programming in schools and communities. Using local peace resources, the project creates and fosters alternatives to weapons and violence in Albanian communities, as well as responds to the actual needs of schools and communities through ongoing training and assessment. Support for school infrastructure, such as computers and software to bridge the technology and knowledge gaps, also helps promote an open and democratic education system. Project activities include sustained work-training teachers and developing student leaders and government-and debate clubs to foster critical thinking about local and global issues of peace and disarmament. Taken as a whole, these activities contribute to what has been called a long-term mental disarmament process.

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Televised discussions such as this one are important in highlighting the significance of disarmament in the development of Albanian society. While many people instantly recognize the fact that weapons wreak havoc in their communities, few know of disarmament education initiatives that can help prevent armed violence in the long run. Furthermore, such public discussion lends support to a wider societal process of mental disarmament and democratic development.

Elton Skendaj is the national project coordinator for "Peace and Disarmament Education to Disarm Children and Youth", a joint project of the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs and Hague Appeal for Peace. He is also a lecturer at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science and Philosophy (www.peace.undp.org.al).

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