PeaceJam

The Nobel Laureates involved with PeaceJam identified areas that must be addressed for there to be world peace, from racism to extreme poverty. The students' job was to chose a project to address that problem in their communities.

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PeaceJam was conceived on the gritty, gang-infested streets of northwest Denver in the summer of 1994. Suvanjieff, an artist, musician, and relentless dreamer was talking with Latino gang members at the corner of 13th and Wyandot when he discovered that these rough-and-tumble youth not only knew who Desmond Tutu was, they appreciated his nonviolent efforts toward change.

Suvanjieff was blown away. In a prevailing atmosphere of disaffection, apathy, and hopelessness among young people, there was also an acute awareness of and appreciation for human greatness. The dreamer in Suvanjieff emerged and he envisioned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates working shoulder-to-shoulder with youth. It was an idea so brash that some scoffed. Could he entice the laureates to jump on board? Could he really help young people regain a sense of meaning and integrity in the world?

Suvanjeiff's vibe was infectious, though, and he soon sold Dawn Engle on the concept. Engle, a former Washington politico and cofounder and chair of the Colorado Friends of Tibet, was granted an audience with the Dalai Lama, and she and Suvanjieff spoke with unabated passion about their brainstorm. The Dalai Lama liked the idea and suggested they bring in other Nobel Laureates. One by one, twelve Laureates-The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, President Oscar Arias, Aung San Suu Kyi, Jody Williams, Máiread Corrigan Maguire, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Bishop Carlos Belo, José Ramos-Horta, Betty Williams, and Sir Joseph Rotblat-learned about the PeaceJam vision and asked, "Where do I sign up?"

Since its launch in 1996, more than 500,000 youth have participated in the PeaceJam program. Over 300,000 service projects have been created and implemented by participating youth, and over 120 PeaceJam youth events have taken place in 10 different countries throughout the world.

PeaceJam