Sara Hadi and Rebecca Katz, two Muslim and Jewish graduates from the Al-Iman School and the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NY, partnered and produced this ten-minute documentary upon their graduation from the Unity Program, a full-year high school course that educate Muslim and Jewish students about Islam and Judaism while strengthening the relationships students have to their own religious tradition. In the documentary students share their experiences as Jewish and Muslim teens living in the US, modeling how transformative the Abraham’s Vision inter-group education programs were for them.

The Network for Peace through Dialogue program in New York works with youth in local schools to promote building new connections, understanding and tolerance for diversity. This student-produced video features their Confronting Concerns initiative.

Students from the Help Increase the Peace and Youth Empowerment through Conflict programs at Ashburton Elementary developed questions and did interviews exploring the issues of bullying in Baltimore City.

AFSC’s Youth Program Director, Mia Jones discusses her work in the Baltimore public school system and how playing games and video projects have raised a particular group of girls, conflict resolution skills and sense or empowerment. She is using the Help Increase the Peace (HIP) Program. The Help Increase the Peace (HIP) Program was developed by the American Friends Service Committee staff in Syracuse, New York, in 1991 as a youth-oriented program to address the epidemic of violence in schools. HIP is based on the conviction that nonviolence and participation in our communities can better each of us and our world. Workshops focus on three themes: options to violence; dealing with racism, prejudices, and our differences; and the belief that we can each participate in our communities to bring about positive social change.

A study published in the journal Child Development finds that Morningside Center’s 4Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect & Resolution) improves children’s behavior, increases their social competency – – and significantly improves academic achievement for at-risk students. Watch this 15-minute video of The 4Rs program in action in a second grade classroom in Brooklyn.

Adam Turner, a college student intern with the American Friends Service Committee office in Los Angeles, documents AFSC’s work with high school students in Los Angeles.