Adults wage war. Is peace then, childrens responsibility?
According toUN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk,the number of civilian deaths in armed conflict soared by 72% in 2023 and the proportion of women killed in 2023 doubled and that of children tripled.
In Sudan, also in 2024, writing a poem for Unicefs Poems for Peace initiative,Muzdalifa said:
In 2015, in Colombia, Gabriela Bucher, of Fundacin Plan,declared thatif a sustainable peace is desired, it is imperative to include young people who, thanks to their abilities and enthusiasm, are able to help bring about the needed transformations for building peace.
BothShaheen Mistri,of Teach for India andCLADE - Latin American Campaign for the right to educationagree that peace education is vital. Paradigms do not change by magic states CLADE.
Teach peace
InMontessori education, inner peace, empathy and respect are encouraged. Conflict resolution is taught and practiced.
In 1964, a School Day of Non-violence and Peace wasfounded by the Spanish poetLloren Vidal Vidal, with universal love as the basic message.
Unfortunately, asNadia Colburn points outin openDemocracy, our culture is in constant preparation for war and still thinks of young men as potential fodder.
Thats whyQuakers offer waysto respond to the militarisation of schools in the UK.
Paint for peace, pray for peace, clown for peace
To encourage a culture of peace, painting competitions are organised, like the onein Baguio City, Philippines,where Genevieve Balance Kupang told the young artists that peace starts with you, in your heart.
Prayer is another way to cultivate peace. In October 2024, over one million children from more than 150 countries took part ina rosary initiativefor peace and unity in the conflict zones.
An attractive way to involve children in peace culture is theChildrens Peace Theatre in Toronto.
An even more engaging way to promote peace was found in Colombia. In 2018the Peace Circus, a three-year initiative was launched,with the goal to help Colombias peace process.
Children as artisans of peace
In 1978,John Hunter invented the World Peace Gamefor fourth graders. Can your children show us how to do this? Because weve not figured it out says the video shown in the article talking about the game which became renowned. The authors point out that kids are pretty good at solving the planets most pressing problems.
Children know what world they want: I dream of a world without warswrites Emani, from Trkye .
They also ask for it, like thirteen - year - oldMary Beth Tinker and her brotherwho, after being punished for protesting the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school, stood firm in a case that led to the guarantee of free speech in public schools.
Kids dont lack imagination to establish world peace, as was shown at aChildrens World Peace Summit.Ideas range from creating an app, Peace Beyond (Thoon Jing Wen from Malaysia) to simplynot start a war by creating a world full of compassion ( Hanon Kawamura, Hiroshima).
Evelyn Tischer
