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- WHO IS IT FOR?
- WHO FOUNDED PEACEJAM?
- WHO FUNDS THE PEACEJAM FOUNDATION?
- DOES PEACEJAM HAVE A POLITICAL
OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION?
- IS PEACEJAM A "DISTINGUISHED
SPEAKER" SERIES?
- HOW DOES THE PEACEJAM AFFILIATE
SYSTEM WORK?
- WHAT IS THE GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION?
1.
WHO IS IT FOR?
PeaceJam is a program for youth of all ages.
Curriculum and program descriptions are available on our
Curriculum page.
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2.
WHO FOUNDED PEACEJAM?
The PeaceJam program was launched in
February, 1996, by co-founders Dawn Engle and Ivan
Suvanjieff. Suvanjieff conceived of the idea for
PeaceJam in the summer of 1994. Suvanjieff was talking
with some gang members from his neighborhood in North
Denver when he discovered that these gun-toting youth
not only knew who Archbishop Desmond Tutu was, they
appreciated his nonviolent efforts toward social change.
An artist, Suvanjieff merely connected the dots between
these disaffected youth and the notion of putting them
together with Nobel Peace Laureates as new role models
for positive change. His colleague, Dawn Engle, had
met the Dalai Lama during her years of work for the
U.S. Congress, where she lobbied on behalf of the
Tibetan cause. Engle and Suvanjieff then were granted
an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who
liked the idea.
The Dalai Lama suggested that the duo
bring in other Nobel Peace Laureates on this youth-oriented
project. Engle and Suvanjieff discovered that a vast
majority of the Nobel Peace Laureates were interested
in the idea of peace education for youth, but as they
were tied-up with the huge amount of work surrounding
each of their own efforts or causes, they had not had
the time to act fully on this concept themselves.
PeaceJam ultimately provided the Nobel Peace Laureates
with a programmatic vehicle to use in working together
to teach youth the art of peace.
To date, 12 Nobel Peace Laureates,
including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, President Oscar Arias, Adolfo
Pérez Esquivel, Máiread Corrigan Maguire, Betty Williams,
Prime Minister José Ramos Horta, Aung San Suu Kyi, Sir
Joseph Rotblat (Emeritus), Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi
serve as Members of the PeaceJam Foundation.
NOTE: PeaceJam is the only foundation in
the world to have such a large number of Nobel Peace
Laureates working together in such a close and continuous way.
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3.
WHO FUNDS THE PEACEJAM FOUNDATION?
A large percentage of PeaceJam's
funding comes from individual donors who make regular or one-time
contributions to support our work. Almost 90% of funding goes
directly to programming and PeaceJam relies on the generosity
of over 1,000 volunteers each year to deliver its services to
youth around the world.
The PeaceJam Foundation also receives
funding from a variety of sources including the following:
- The Fetzer Institute
- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation
- National Service Learning Partnership /
Academy of Educational Development
- The Gill Foundation / Gay and Lesbian Fund
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment /
Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program
- The Daniels Fund
- The Denver Foundation
- The Rose Community Foundation
- The Ford Foundation
- The Colorado Department of Education
- The El Pomar Foundation (EPYCS)
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4.
DOES PEACEJAM HAVE A POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION?
No. The Nobel Peace Laureates who work with
PeaceJam are from different countries, have differing
spiritual views, as well as differing political views. They
all, however, do agree that it is necessary to teach peace,
conflict resolution, and tolerance, to youth around the
world, and that PeaceJam is an excellent vehicle to deliver
these lessons.
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5.
IS PEACEJAM A "DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER" SERIES?
No, PeaceJam is not an event! PeaceJam is a
year-long, on-going leadership training program for youth of
all ages. Young people have a unique opportunity to study
the PeaceJam curriculum, which focuses on 12 Nobel Peace
Laureates, their words, their work, and also on issues
facing young people today (such as violence and oppression).
The curriculum is standards based and also incorporates
peacemaking, leadership, and conflict resolution skills.
The curriculum is taught by trained community leaders,
teachers, and mentors through schools and community
based organizations.
Since February of 1996 (the launch of
PeaceJam), nearly 600,000 youth worldwide have
participated in the program. Each student has had a
minimum of 45.5 contact hours with their teacher,
mentor, community leader, or PeaceJam staff member.
The PeaceJam program is a model program that has been
duplicated and delivered both nationwide and internationally.
See our
Get Involved page for more information.
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6.
HOW DOES THE PEACEJAM AFFILIATE SYSTEM WORK?
PeaceJam Foundation operates on an affiliate
system to deliver programs to youth around the world. PeaceJam
partners with like-minded non-profit organizations and/or
universities to run the PeaceJam program in their region.
Even if you do not have a PeaceJam office in
your region, you can participate in the program and study the
curriculum. Please contact the PeaceJam Headquarters office if
you are within a region that does not have a local office
for more information.
Click here for contact information for your local PeaceJam office.
Click here for more details on how to get involved.
7.
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION?
Ten leading Nobel Peace Laureates (The Dalai Lama,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Oscar Arias, Jody Williams,
Shirin Ebadi, Prime Minister José-Ramos Horta, Rigoberta Menchú
Tum, Máiread Corrigan Maguire, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and
Betty Williams) launched the PeaceJam Foundations Global Call
to Action with the youth of the world on September 15th, 2006 as a
part of PeaceJam's 10th Anniversary Celebration. This is a decade-long,
worldwide campaign, and we invite all of the people of the world to join
this global effort.
Click here for more information on the Global Call to Action.
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