Pakistan in Praxis: The Development of a Peer Education Programme as a Tool Kit in Developing Young People for Critical Consciousness

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how the pedagogy of Paulo Freire has been successfully combined with transformational leadership training techniques in the development and delivery of a peer leadership programme for young people in Pakistan. It will explore how a group of University of Central Lancashire Community Leadership students from the Pakistani diaspora in Burnley, East Lancashire, UK, collaborated with students from the California Association of Student councilsCouncils, Stanford University, and students from the University of Gujrat, Pakistan, to develop a peer peer-centred approach to developing leadership skills, with a strong focus on the concept of action/reflection praxis. Their objective was to develop, in the words of the late Michael Elliott, “a tool kit for change” (Elliott, 2011) that can be used by young people and communities. The outcome of the process was not only a ‘tool kit’ for developing leadership skills, it also opened up the significant possibilities and benefits from mobilising Pakistani undergraduates in Freire Freire-influenced social action.
Pakistan is in a unique position in terms of a youth dividend. In 2004, the youth