Formal education alone is unlikely to overcome negative images perpetuated by the family, community, church and media. Prejudice reduction in adults is also an important part of peace-building. Programs to reduce prejudices include formal education, community conferences or festivals, mass media campaigns, encouragement from respected leaders, and individual therapy. Prejudices against others may also play a significant role in maintaining an individual's own positive self- image. Just as personal attitudes must be examined, so must cultural attitudes.
National identities can be exclusionary.
Intellectuals and artists can play an important role in peace- building by examining cultural traditions and myths, by deconstructing exclusionist myths, and by reconstructing a more pluralist, inclusive set of cultural myths and traditions. The Field Day project in Northern Ireland is an example of such cultural exploration. Field Day is an association of poets, actors and playwrights who seek to shift understanding of Irish culture away from the romantic Celtic approach of Yeats by drawing on the more pluralistic approaches of Joyce and Beckett. The group is also producing an anthology of Irish literature which highlights the various traditions which have contributed to Irish literature.