On October 24, the presentation slides would not open. The internet connection was unstable, the Chrome browser was acting up, and difficult English words kept tripping her up. For Jerusalem Alemayhu in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it was a frustrating rehearsal. It also made one thing clear: knowing the lecture material was not enough. She needed to be ready for the technical side of presenting, too.

Jerusalem is a student at New Generation University College and a Peace Committee member of IWPG’s Addis Ababa Branch. After taking on the role of a lecturer for the Peace Leadership Training and Education (PLTE) program, she began a month of rehearsals on October 11. She had to understand the material thoroughly, explain it clearly in English, and be prepared to answer students’ questions. It was no small task.

From the first rehearsal, Jerusalem focused on delivering the material accurately. She prepared a script to keep her explanations on topic and went over the content repeatedly. “I prepared a script in advance so I could explain the lecture accurately and stay focused on the topic,” she said. “It helped me present the material in a more structured way, and I felt more confident than I had during the previous rehearsal.”

As the rehearsals continued, new challenges emerged. During the third lesson rehearsal on October 18, she focused on learning how to share her PowerPoint presentation. She also worked on organizing the material around the lesson objectives and allotted time, revising her explanations based on feedback. At the October 24 rehearsal, she faced another set of obstacles: difficult vocabulary, an unstable internet connection, and problems with the Chrome browser.

After that experience, she paid closer attention to the practical details of preparing a lecture. She worked on sharing her slides smoothly and adjusting the content to fit the lesson goals and time. Each round of feedback gave her another opportunity to refine her explanations. She also came to see that preparing for an online lecture meant checking the presentation setup as carefully as the material itself.

Her focus gradually shifted from simply delivering what she knew to making sure students could understand it. The fifth rehearsal, held on October 25, went relatively smoothly. Lesson 5 covered a subject she was familiar with, as she had studied the history of war in class. Even so, she made an effort to explain the material in simple terms so that students could follow it easily. At the sixth rehearsal on October 31, she prepared possible questions and answers for each lesson, thinking not only about how to explain the content but also how to respond to students.

Jerusalem also met with university student council representatives to introduce IWPG and PLTE and discuss ways to work together. The university has only 10 classrooms, and classes are consistently full. Taking this into account, she proposed holding PLTE lectures online, with the orientation and graduation ceremonies taking place in person. Student Council President Malefiya Yehombawork said IWPG’s vision was closely aligned with that of the university. The discussion also covered student recruitment, promotion, each side’s responsibilities, and the contents of a potential memorandum of understanding.

Teaching others about peace begins with a willingness to learn and prepare. For Jerusalem, that preparation has involved revising scripts, practicing pronunciation, and working through technical difficulties. Her experience in Addis Ababa shows how one person’s efforts to prepare for peace education can help lay the groundwork for reaching a wider community.