Getting involved for peace around the lives of 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
Nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize, PeaceJam was launched in Belgium in September 2016. Hosted by UCL, its activities are supported by the “Democracy, Cultures and Action” Fund. The organization calls on all students who want to commit and act for peace.
What is PeaceJam?
PeaceJam is a non-profit organization founded 22 years ago (1996) in Denver, Colorado (USA) by Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff and is now present in over 39 countries.
The organization offers a unique global peace education programme around the lives of the 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and has been nominated 9 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates are committed to sharing their experience and inspire young people from around the world. They share the stories and elements that, throughout their lives, have allowed them to bring to bear acts of peace.
The objective is to inspire young people to become actors of peace and positive in their own communities and around the world. Taking to heart the principle that each initiative counts, the campaign “A Billion Acts of Peace” has the aim of creating a global citizen movement that can take up the challenge of addressing the 10 most pressing issues that humanity and our planet is facing today. Among these issues are namely the respect of human rights for all, promotion of women and children’s rights, the elimination of all forms of racism and the resolution of conflicts through non-violent action.
How does PeaceJam work?
PeaceJam conferences are one-day to two-day long, lively, team-building and fun events organized over a weekend, designed specifically for secondary students (14 – 18 years old) who participate in activities exploring compassion, collaborative problem-solving, and the meaning of being global citizens, which are destined to inspire them to engage in acts of peace. They are coached by one of the 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, as well as by approximately 50 university students who play the role of mentors. The idea is to gather around this same initiative and objectives a very diverse audience to enhance dialogue beyond differences in language, culture, religion and socio-economic background, in a spirit of inclusion and care.
Each year, a new group is formed. This group organizes local sections of 5 to 6 people in order to develop concrete projects that allow them to act for peace.
To achieve its objectives, PeaceJam offers a number of tools for the participants including workshops and courses on project management and coaching. Their specificity, however, is the opportunity to share and get to know the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates from whom the participants can get inspired and nourish their own experiences.
PeaceJam in Belgium
PeaceJam established a partnership with the Belgian NGO Learning for Well-Being Foundation, who helps to coordinate PeaceJam activities in Belgium and is hosted by the four Universities: ULB, VUB, KUL and UCL.
A first successful conference at ULB was held from September 9 to 11, 2016, with the presence of Jody Williams and the Dalai Lama and gathered 105 participants, including 25 university mentors and 80 students from secondary schools. In 2017, from November 17 to 19, the PeaceJam conference was held at UCL in Louvain-la-Neuve, with the presence of the Iranian judge and Nobel Peace Prize Laurate in 2003 Shirin Ebadi. The conference gathered around 150 participants, including 23 university mentors.
A one-day Slam event was held on March 24, 2018 at UCL in the run-up to the next PeaceJam Conference to be held from October 19 – 21, 2018 at KUL in Leuven. The PeaceJam Slam event gathered a very active group of 50 participants, including 12 student mentors, teachers and staff, and the presence of Philippe Hensmans, Director of Amnesty International Belgique – Francophone.
In the framework of a long-standing partnership between the UCL, ULB, VUB and KUL, such a conference will be held each year at one of the four university campuses on a rotating basis. The aim is to gather the four universities around this same initiative and, in this way, contribute to a culture of peace within Belgian society, beyond the different historical divides. Similarly, the objective is to give space to reflections around the question of peace within University, beyond excellence research carried out in the different research centers of each university, opening pathways of engagement for all students in the service of a culture of peace in Belgian and European society. Learning the meaning of active citizenship will allow youth from different social and cultural backgrounds to create bridges, in the spirit of inclusion and respect, in order to fight against inequalities, promote pluralism and religious tolerance.
How to participate?
PeaceJam welcomes the participation of all those secondary and university students wanting to contribute to a better world, to transform society, to acquire competences in teamwork and social action.
Interested and eager to join? Visit the websites below, sign-up to the next conference and let the “Democracy, Cultures and Action” Fund know of your interest (chairedce@uclouvain.be). Do not hesitate to share the information with your peers!