From time to time, UNIFIL peacekeepers visit schools to talk to students about the role of the mission in South Lebanon. The aim is to introduce the young generation to the mission so that they can have a better understanding of what peacekeepers do in southern Lebanon and why they are here.

The UNIFIL team prepares a presentation about the mission and spends a few hours with students aged 6 to 18 years old in various schools throughout the south. The young primary and elementary school students meet Mr. and Mrs. Blue Barrel, engaging props used to explain the Blue Line and the blue barrels erected at each of the Blue Line points. The children also get to learn about the danger of mine fields and unexploded mines and bombs left behind from past conflicts, while getting acquainted with the peacekeepers. 

The high school students are introduced to more substantial aspects of the mission, such as UNIFIL’s history, aspects of its mandate, operational activities, details of the Blue Line and UNIFIL’s cooperation and support to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

Such meetings often encourage students to ask questions about UNIFIL, leading to lively and constructive interactions between them and the peacekeepers. For the visiting peacekeepers, being able to arouse curiosity and share valuable information with young people is a success. These school visits were initiated in 2007 as part of an effort to help the population better understand why the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission is here and how it contributes to the preservation of stability and security in south Lebanon.