2026 Outstanding Peace Education

Emeritus Professor Tom Woodhouse has been a central figure in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford since 1974, when he began as a research assistant to Professor Adam Curle, one of the founders of the discipline.

At the University of Bradford — home to the world’s first university Department of Peace Studies and today one of the world’s largest centres for peace and conflict research — Woodhouse helped shape the field during its formative years. He played a leading role in developing core curricula in conflict resolution and peace education, and in 1990 founded the Centre for Conflict Resolution, serving as its first director. Through this work, he strengthened the integration of academic scholarship with practical peacebuilding training.

As a scholar, educator, and author, Professor Woodhouse has significantly advanced both theory and practice. His widely cited publications on conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and negotiation are used globally, and his co-authored textbooks have become foundational in peace education programmes worldwide.

His most recent work has focussed in the area of Sport Diplomacy, concentrating especially on the power of football as a platform to motivate young people to engage in peacebuilding in their own communities. To this end he has formed the Football Peace Academy at footballpeaceacademy.com to promote this work and to support the Training Positive Peace Champions project in Colombia, which enables young people to use the IEP’s (Institute for Economics & Peace) “The 8 Pillars of Positive Peace” to the needs of their community.

For over five decades, his dedication to teaching and research has helped establish peace studies as a rigorous academic discipline and a vital force in shaping peacebuilders across cultures, making him an exemplary candidate for Outstanding Peace Education.

“Peace education provides the foundational knowledge to enable us to imagine a more peaceful world, and to teach the craft and skills for making peace.”

Dr. Tom Woodhouse

Below, you will find a video by the Football Peace Academy community at Goles Por La Paz which Sustainable Development Goal drives their vision for the future:

Photo credit: Alex Anyfandakis (Peace Avocate Photography) & Sarah Miller Media