The Young Peacebuilders Guide To Tackling Harmful Narratives

The Young Peacebuilders’ Guide to Tackling Harmful Narratives entails a concrete step-by-step methodology and tools to support young peacebuilders in their fight against harmful narratives, as well as four concrete alternative narrative campaigns that were developed by United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) members.

Rather than creating the umpteenth resource that sheds light on the issue of harmful narratives, this by-youth-for-youth guide is a collaborative document that encapsulates the work and input of 11 UNOY members who took part in UNOY Peacebuilders’ capacity development programme—Youth Promoting Peaceful and Cohesive Societies in Europe—held between April and June 2022, as well as the insights of experts in disinformation and media development at large.

Bringing the Lessons of the Holocaust to teachers in Rwanda

When Drew Beiter and Mark Gudgel met at a teacher training program at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, they shared a love for Rwanda and a desire to help its teachers provide quality Holocaust and genocide education. Supported by a seed grant from the Museum and other partners, they realized their vision with the first annual Educators Institute on Human Rights, Rwanda, held July 31 to August 2, 2011 in Kigali. They hoped to hold another conference in Rwanda in the next year and expand their efforts to other countries. They have been successful. Learn more about the Educators Institute on Human Rights: http://www.eihr.org/.

Drama for Conflict Transformation Toolkit: Youth Theater for Peace

Youth leaders and adult facilitators can use the Drama for Conflict Transformation Toolkit to create a customized training agenda based on their needs, timetable, and cultural context.

Across Kyrgyzstan, youth participants in the Youth Theater for Peace (YTP) program are using the Drama for Conflict Transformation methodology introduced in the toolkit to create community conversation about conflict issues. Since 2010, participants have collaborated with more than 50,000 audience members to talk about solutions to bullying in schools, labor migration, bride kidnapping, resource scarcity, and substance abuse.

Cyberbullying (UNICEF)

According to Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child, all children have the right to be protected from all forms of violence while in the care of parents or other caregivers. This problem needs awareness and education. UNICEF Digital Citizenship and Safety project team is working on addressing cyberbullying, with this video as one example of their work.

Youth Practicing Dialogue 2010

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.

Playing and Practicing Peace in Baltimore

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.

Lions International Peace Poster Contest

Each year, Lions clubs around the world proudly sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. During the last 20 years, more than four million children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest. The theme of the 2010-11 Peace Poster Contest, “Vision of Peace,” was open to students, aged 11, 12 or 13. Participants use a variety of mediums, including charcoal, crayon, pencil and paint, to express the theme. The works created are unique and express the young artists’ life experiences and culture.

In the Harmony

A short musical video using puppets that promotes getting along despite differences. Aimed at preschool through 3rd grade.

Aik Saath – Supporting CR among Sikh, Hindu and Muslim youth in London

This video profiles Aik Saath, a youth-run project in London that trains young people to be peer educators around conflict resolution. Over one hundred young people have been part of the team, training their peers in conflict resolution and anti-racism skills, since 1998. The team trains over one thousand other young people every year. Learn more about the group on their website or via their brochure (5 MB).

Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History

Bullied is a Teaching Tolerance documentary film that chronicles one student’s ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and offers an inspiring message of hope to those fighting harassment today. It can become a cornerstone of anti-bullying efforts in middle and high schools.

PeaceJam Juniors

This Video provides an overview of the PeaceJam Juniors Program and documents one school’s experience with this award-winning curriculum.

PeaceJam Juniors is a standards-based elementary curriculum that explores the childhood stories of 12 Nobel Peace Laureates and the ways they overcome problems in their communities. Students study the personal experiences of these amazing world leaders and then engage in service-learning activities that address local needs. As a result, children gain academic skills in the areas of reading, writing, history, civics, and geography. They also develop personal and social skills including problem-solving, conflict resolution, and leadership. PeaceJam Juniors can be implemented as stand alone curricular units or as a complement to existing curricula and aligns with best practices in the fields of service-learning, conflict resolution, and character education.

NewsHour segment on the 4Rs Program at Brooklyn’s P.S. 24.

Visit a school where learning to recognize feelings (one’s own and others’) and how to handle them before they get in the way are just as important as traditional academics. On July 21, 2009, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired a segment on the Morningside Center’s programs at Brooklyn’s P.S. 24. The segment highlights the classroom-based 4Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect & Resolution), an innovative, research-based approach for fostering students’ social and emotional learning.

Peer Mediators as Change Writers

As part of the National Writing Project, a group of Marsh Junior High eighth-grade peer mediators from Chico, California embarked on a journey of exploration and discovery to find their voices and become agents of change. Here’s a video documenting some of what went on.