When Nobel laureates work with the young

CULTURE & SOCIETY

by THE OLBIOS TEAM

The PeaceJam Foundation is an international organization that has a mission, “to create young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates who pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody – with the aim to teach to young people the art of peace.” The story of PeaceJam is quite extraordinary. It all began in the summer of 1993 when Ivan Suvanjiff had a discussion with four neighbors of his who were all carrying guns. Ivan found out that these youths were inspired by the Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, and had the idea to bring Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to youth in the Denver area. Dawn Gifford Engle, a colleague of Ivan’s, had contacts with the Dalai Lama. Dawn and Ivan began creating a business plan to present to the Dalai Llama. They flew to India and presented their idea to the Dalai Lama, who agreed to help them. Dawn and Ivan’s idea became PeaceJam. Officially founded in 1996, PeaceJam has had more than 600.000 young participants in the United States and in countries around the world. PeaceJammers have created almost one million service projects designed to address problems in their own schools and communities. In September 2006, ten leading Nobel Peace Laureates and more than three thousand young people traveled from all over the world to Denver, Colorado, to celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the PeaceJam Foundation. It was the largest gathering of Nobel Peace Laureates ever held in US history. They launched a ten-year Global Call to Action campaign, designed to tackle what they saw as the ten greatest challenges to the survival and well being of our planet today. It may not be surprising that the PeaceJam Foundation was already nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. PeaceJam - website Website: www.peacejam.org The Juniors Team

 

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