A world-changing idea
By The Editor
For the last article of the year, The Galt
Global Review brings the first of an on-going series focusing or
companies, organizations and individual people creating positive
and peaceful change in the world. Stay tuned for more profiles
such as this in the up-coming year.
The Peacejam Foundation, a not for profit organization based in Denver,
Colorado, is the only foundation of its kind to connect Nobel Peace
Laureates with youth to provoke "world-changing ideas" and
to help create the next generation of leaders.
The foundation runs 5 programs that work with youth from elementary
through college and reaches out to at risk youth in the juvenile justice
system. Each program includes a comprehensive study of a particular
Peace Laureate's life, including the character traits they embody;
conflicts they have had to overcome within their lifetimes; and the
strategies they have used to address urgent global issues.
Since it was launched in 1996, more than 500,000 youth from 10 different
countries worldwide have participated in the program; and over 300,000
community service projects have been undertaken by participants in
countries ranging from Argentina to the UK, to Costa Rica, to South
Africa and to India.
Founded in 1994 by two Denver residents, Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn
Gifford-Engle, Peacejam began with a single mission: To enable Nobel
Peace Prize Laureates to serve as mentors and inspiration for youth.
Since its inception it has grown to become a $750,000 a year organization,
with 90 cents out of every dollar going back into projects and funding
conventions that occur worldwide each year.
Peacejam was originally conceived by Ivan Suvanjieff after he encountered
a group of teenage gang members in his neighbourhood. Through a lengthy
conversation with the group, Suvanjieff discovered that they knew nothing
of American politics and could not name the President, yet, astonishingly
enough, each one could tell him what was occurring in South Africa’s
peaceful abolishment of apartheid. The teenagers' knew who Desmond
Tutu was; moreover, they appreciated the Archbishop's nonviolent efforts
toward change.
As he describes it, Suvanjieff was "blown away." His encounter
inspired him to envision a program that enabled Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
to work closely with youth as a means to pass on their skills and wisdom
and to inspire a new generation of leaders and peacemakers.
Suvanjieff managed to sell Dawn Gifford-Engle on the project. Gifford-Engle
had worked in politics in Washington, D.C. for years, becoming the
youngest female chief staff in the Senate for a Michigan senator. As
co-founder and chair of the Colorado Friends of Tibet, she used her
connections to grant the two of them an audience with the Dalai Lama
in India to pitch their vision.
Receptive to the idea, it was the Dalai Lama who suggested they bring
in other Nobel Laureates, and the pair soon began connecting with other
laureates. To date, twelve Nobel Peace Laureates are involved with
the foundation, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
About the Nobel Peace Laureates
Archbishop Desmond Tutu 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.
President Oscar Arias, current President of Costa
Rica, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to
negotiate a peaceful resolution to the years of conflict and war in
Central America.
Rigoberta Menchú Tum was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1992 for her work as a peaceful advocate of native Indian
rights in Central America and for her leadership among indigenous peoples
worldwide.
The Dalai Lama 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.
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1991 for her nonviolent leadership of the democratic opposition
in Burma, following the principles of Gandhi. She has been under house
arrest since 1989.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire & Betty Williams were
presented with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for their efforts to create
a grassroots movement to end the violence in Northern Ireland.
Jody Williams of the International Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ICBL) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her
work in creating an international treaty to ban landmines and for the
clearing of anti-personnel landmine fields.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1980 for his leadership for human rights and true democracy
for the people of Latin America.
José Ramos-Horta was presented with the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1996 for his sustained efforts to end the oppression
of the East Timorese people.
Laureate Emeritus Sir Joseph Rotblat was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for his efforts to diminish the part
played by nuclear arms in international politics.
Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
2003 for her efforts for democracy, peace, and women's rights in the
Middle East.
Source: http://www.peacejam.org/
If you have any questions, or would like to us to publish
world statistical data on a particular topic, please email the editor
at: editor@galtglobalreview.com
