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MYCP Sponsors County-wide PeaceJam

KEY WEST, Fla. (538 words) – At the statewide Service Learning Conference, two Monroe County youth insisted the PeaceJam curriculum be brought to the county for their peers. Now the program is running at all three public high schools with dozens of youth volunteering time to teach their peers and create projects of peace throughout the community.

Ten years ago the founders of PeaceJam brought together 10 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. They identified the world’s top 10 issues and a global call to action. Over the next ten years PeaceJam, with the support of the Nobel Peace Laureates, aims to engage young people on a massive level, working toward the creation of one billion acts of service and peace.

Students who elect to be a part of PeaceJam attend weekly sessions, often held on Sundays, at lunch, and after school, to learn about the 10 core issues. Two students study the curriculum and teach their dozen or so counterparts.

In the violence chapter, each group has drawn a map of their respective communities and identified where violent hot spots are. Another topic being researched is clean water. “I think our team will end up doing a project on that based on the passion I see in them already,” said Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator Mindy Vinson.

The 10 core issues are: Equal Access to Water and Other Natural Resources; Ending Racism and Hate; Halting the Spread of Global Disease; Eliminating Extreme Poverty; Social Justice and Human Rights for All; Rights for Women and Children, and their Role as Leaders; Restoring Earth’s Environment; Controlling the Proliferation of Weapons; Investing in Human Security; and Breaking the Cycle of Violence.

The Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent efforts to resolve the Tibetan conflict and for his worldwide role as a man of peace and advocate for the environment, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his courageous leadership in efforts to find a nonviolent solution to the conflicts over the policy of apartheid in South Africa, are two of the Nobel Laureates who serve as advisors to the youth.

After completing all 10 training sessions, youth from Coral Shores, Marathon and Key West High Schools anticipate traveling to the state convention this spring where they get to present their project for peace in response to the global call to action.

While this is not promoted as a follow up to Challenge Day to the youth, that is part of its purpose. PeaceJam is designed to meet the needs to engage youth in learning, help them develop positive bonds toward school, and build relationships with adults. All youth who attended Challenge Day were invited to become a part of PeaceJam.

Monroe Youth Challenge Program is a project of the Monroe County Education Foundation to foster acceptance, respect, and success in the youth of Monroe County. For more information call MYCP Director Sunny Booker at (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319 or visit www.monroe.k12.fl.us/mycp.