In Ukraine, children living through war are learning how to manage stress, understand their emotions and build resilience through Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning, an educational program developed by Emory University, inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision and shaped with his support.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, parents reported signs of psychological trauma among their children, while schools struggled to meet the enormous demand for psychological support. Through SEE Learning, children have been taught skills to help them navigate difficult emotions, regulate stress, and strengthen their relationships with others.
As a Tibetan in exile, I find it inspiring to see these teachings benefit children living through conflict thousands of miles from Tibet. However, I could not help but contrast this with the disturbing images I saw recently of Tibetan school children in Tibet dressed in military-style uniforms and being subjected to political indoctrination and military training in the name of education.
It made me think about the stark difference between what ideas inspired by His Holiness are contributing to children elsewhere in the world and what Tibetan children themselves are experiencing in Tibet under China’s oppressive rule.
An education of the heart and mind
Developed by Emory University, SEE Learning draws on His Holiness’s vision of integrating universal human values into education. Its curriculum, for children aged 3-19, spanning early childhood through secondary education, includes lessons on resilience, interdependence, compassion and navigating emotions.
His Holiness supported the development of the program, which entered its pilot phase in 2015 and was formally launched internationally in 2019. At the launch, he said: “The results of this program and curriculum will not be seen next week, but in the course of the next generation when we might see more compassionate human beings, happier individuals and families.”
He also spoke about the need to cultivate an understanding of interconnectedness, particularly in confronting global challenges such as climate change, and called for a more “balanced education of the heart and mind.”
SEE Learning has since been implemented in educational settings across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its application in Ukraine shows how these principles can become practical tools for children facing extraordinary circumstances.
In Ukraine, SEE Learning imparted through the SEEN project — which is being piloted by the EdCamp Ukraine in partnership with Emory University and the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science — has supported students, teachers and communities during the war. Research has shown that the program helped students reduce stress and build stronger relationships with their classmates. Teachers have also described how skills they learned through the program became unexpectedly important once the war began. One teacher explained: “What I learned in the SEEN course is the awareness of the importance of self-regulation. In the most difficult moments, hours, days, like a lifeline, I hold on to my psychological resources: I remember the brightest moments of life, mentally transfer myself to the place where I was happy… And I repeat them now with the children. It calms me down a little and gives me strength. SEEN made it clear that compassion for oneself is not selfish, it is normal, and in wartime it is vital.”
The positive outcomes of the initial pilot were reported to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, and the program has continued to expand. While only an end of the war will ultimately bring lasting relief for children, SEE learning supports them in coping with trauma and developing skills meaningful beyond the war.
Watching this program help children in Ukraine is a powerful demonstration of how Tibetan culture and religion can enrich our world and evidence of what His Holiness has spent decades advocating: education should develop not only knowledge, but compassion and our sense of responsibility toward one another.
And this is also what makes the situation of Tibetan children inside Tibet so painful.
A very different education for Tibetan children in Tibet
The images of Tibetan school children undertaking military-style exercises represent a profoundly different vision of childhood and education and sit within the Chinese Communist Party’s broader assimilation policies that seek to erase Tibetan identity, and have attracted sustained concern from human-rights organizations and UN experts.
These coercive policies violate Tibetan children’s rights. China ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. The Convention protects children’s rights in areas including education, family life, culture, religion, and language. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized that education should support the development of a child’s personality and abilities while fostering respect for the child’s cultural identity, language, and values.
In its 2013 review of China, the Committee expressed concern about discrimination against Tibetan and Uyghur children in the education system, restrictions affecting the use and promotion of Tibetan in schools, and reports concerning school closures and the detention of teachers. It also raised concerns about restrictions affecting Tibetan children’s freedom of religion and their exercise of other fundamental rights. More recent warnings from UN experts about state-run residential schools demonstrate why international scrutiny remains important.
When China’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child is next reviewed, the international community should closely examine whether Tibetan children can meaningfully exercise their rights to education, family life, language, culture and religion.
SEE Learning demonstrates what education can aspire to do: help children understand themselves and others, develop resilience and compassion, and recognize their interconnectedness with the wider world.
Children in Ukraine are already benefiting from that vision. Tibetan children in Tibet deserve an education that also allows them to flourish — one that respects their language, their families, their religion and their cultural identity.
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Jangchup Cohen is a Fellow under ICT’s ‘Lodi Gyari Fellowship Programme’ and works at the ICT office in Berlin, Germany.
