Written by Jasper Lim (Y12)
Recently, groups of students at the LGB and Nations campuses have been working toward a project called IDC26, which is based on the UN’s International Day of Conscience (a day which promotes care and appreciation for one another rather than violent conflict), typically celebrated yearly on April 5th.
The project was initiated and brought by Sofia Stril-Rever in 2023, founder of the charity LoveForce, and guided since last year by one of La Chât’s own teachers, Mr. Jan Dijkstra. They, with an Ecolint alumni from the 1970s (who is now a UN official specializing on Africa) planned the structure of the program with a focus on Ecolint’s involvement and collaboration.
The core of the project
Since early November 2025, weekly discussions were held with the students at all 3 campuses, where they engaged about guiding questions with inner peace, peace with others, and peace with the natural environment. Soon after, those students were invited to start a project which involved applying their heightened knowledge of peace into the school community. Although the Project did not launch at La Châtaigneraie, the Nations students organized workshops for fellow students in Pimary encouraging responses through art, as well as workshops for the Wellbeing conferences for Years 11-12. The LGB students took a similar approach, with one also used art as a medium with the theme of “inner peace, outer world” with the LGB Art teachers, and the other on a CAS project revolving around Afghan women.
They aim to present their projects in a symposium on the 2nd of April at the UN in downtown Geneva.
Interviewing Mr. Dijkstra
Curious about more details on the project, which I tried to engage with but did not commit to as much as the other students have, I asked Mr. Dijkstra for his perspective as an organizer of the event and the project as a whole on some questions on the style of an interview via Google Docs. My questions are in bold, with his answers being in a different font.
One question I asked was about the natural environment. I posed the question,
“How does the natural world relate to peace and the core of the project?”
Answer: We understand peace to be at the level of self, inner peace, with others, societal or community peace and peace with the natural world. Most often we only focus on the second one, as it is most in the news. However, Peace goes well beyond (geo)politics and by bringing the natural world we invite questions about how we can relate with animals, plants and the ecosystems around us in a more respectful and reciprocal way.
Then, I asked
“Is there anything that you have learned when working on this project that stuck with you after? (Like a quote, or a video).”
His answer was: What I was really happy about, was to see the way students engaged from the beginning and the enthusiasm they brought throughout the project. As an insight, I was struck by something that Prof Grandjean shared, which is that the way we internalise our understanding of peace and conflict actually shapes the way we perceive the world. It is as if the world mirrors back our own interpretations of others – hardwired confirmation bias, so to speak. I was also surprised to learn that Peace is not necessarily the absence of conflict, but rather a way of engaging with conflict! (link to podcast)
Mr. Dijkstra also appreciated the work that many other adults had contributed to making the project happen, such as Sarah Noble, who is a peace-advocate leading PeaceTalks, reciting stories to audiences around the world.
Finally, I asked what he wanted people to have as a takeaways once having attended the symposium. His message was:
- For the participating students, I would like them to feel a deep sense of achievement and satisfaction in the work completed, as well as an ongoing sense of inspiration for their future education and work:
- For visitors, a moment to reflect on how much hard and diverse work the building of Peace involves, as well as its rich (and troubled) history. It would be great if they also walked out with a sense of hope and inspiration to take some of this forward in their own lives and work.
The Benefits of Attending the Event
To conclude, IDC26 is a project that shows the effort and importance students can have toward a goal of achieving peace, both through their learning, but also their applications through projects and their panels this coming April 2nd. Students have the option to go for part of a day or the full day. The details of the day can be found here. And, best of all, there will likely be people who inspire you with their words and values.
How IDC will continue in the future
On asking Mr. Dijkstra for how he envisions IDC progressing hopefully as a yearly event for Ecolint (with this year being the first for the school), he said, “It is my hope that this will be the beginning of a long tradition that will engage students in meaningful learning and bring a better understanding of the practice of peace to their communities and beyond.” The practice of peace, both as a celebration and as a reminder, should be one that is sustained for the future.