Adolfo Pérez Esquivel has spent a lifetime dedicated to fighting for the right to live in a democratic society and in building nonviolent movements for change. After speaking out against the Argentinean dictatorship Esquivel spent 14 months as one of Argentina’s “disappeared”; imprisoned and tortured. Released after an Amnesty International campaign, Esquivel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his leadership for human rights and true democracy for the people of Latin America. Today, Esquivel helps support groups trying to bring out the truth about crimes of the dictatorship in Argentina, to bring justice to their families and to locate the children of the “disappeared” and reunite them with their biological families. He also continues his work calling for a cancellation of the debt of third world countries and has started two “Peace Villages” which provide training and housing for homeless and orphaned children in Argentina.
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PeaceJam UK Youth Conference 28th - 29th April 2012
With Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel has spent a lifetime dedicated to fighting for the right to live in a democratic society and in building nonviolent movements for change. After speaking out against the Argentinean dictatorship Esquivel spent 14 months as one of Argentina’s “disappeared”; imprisoned and tortured. Released after an Amnesty International campaign, Esquivel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his leadership for human rights and true democracy for the people of Latin America. Today, Esquivel helps support groups trying to bring out the truth about crimes of the dictatorship in Argentina, to bring justice to their families and to locate the children of the “disappeared” and reunite them with their biological families. He also continues his work calling for a cancellation of the debt of third world countries and has started two “Peace Villages” which provide training and housing for homeless and orphaned children in Argentina.
More than 250 young people are expected to gather at the University of Bradford to quiz the Nobel Laureate and take part in activities and discussion facilitated by our well-trained student mentors. The participants will also have the opportunity to explore the issues of human rights in the 21st century, develop skills for peaceful living, learn about global issues of poverty, social justice and conflict through interactive workshops, and via engaging in community service projects. In addition, they will be given the floor to present their own Global Call to Action projects and share what has inspired them to engage in PeaceJam UK. This breathtaking and unforgettable experience is wrapped up in heaps of fun and informative discussions, exciting Saturday party and delicious meals and, above all, in a friendly atmosphere and a jolly good time! PeaceJam: Change Starts Here. Let's respond to the Global Call to Action Together!
Places are limited and book up fast so contact us as SOON as possible to order your resource pack and register. The Youth Conference is £45 per youth participant and free for accompanying teachers/youth workers.
See below link of the event
Inspired Times (pdf format)
www.inspiredtimesmagazine.com
Please contact us for further information:
Email: peacejam@bradford.ac.uk Tel: 01274 234206
Pleace contact Tony Myers for a registration packet:
Email: tonypeacejamuk@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 07772 018571.
We can support you in getting PeaceJam up and running in your school or youth group, and in bringing young people to a truly inspiring and life-changing weekend.
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Past Events
PeaceJam UK Slam 14 November 2009
PeaceJam UK held a very successful Slam on 14 November 09 at the University of Bradford in partnership and fantastic funding support from the Co-operative Membership North Region, which was inspiring for all. PeaceJam has been student led since it started in Bradford in 2006, and the 35+ students who have been recruited, trained and taken on key organisational roles in the short time span of approx 2 months in the build-up to the Slam event are amazing in their passion, enthusiasm, support and incredible commitment.
There were 71 young people aged between 13-19 who attended the Slam event with their teachers and youth workers, with representation from 11 schools/youth groups. Groups came from across Bradford, York, Rochdale and Coventry. The PeaceJam UK Org Team comprised 7 key co-ordinators, 18 trained mentors and 10 volunteers, with support from the PJ UK Leadership team.
The 2009 PeaceJam Slam at the University of Bradford had the theme ‘What Is Fair?’ encouraging young people to think about and discuss issues such as human rights, equality, tolerance, discrimination, bullying and fair-trade. We had the pleasure to welcome guest speakers including our sponsor’s and key partner – Ed Powell – the Co-operative Membership North region, and Neil Martin – The Human Rights Commission who set the tone of the event. Students took part in workshops on the situation in North Korea, on homophobia, fair-trade and nuclear disarmament. They also had the chance of exploring the topic of fairness through drama, rap creating and song-writing and arts. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors – the Co-operative Membership North Region – PeaceJam UK officially launched the Global Call to Action Grant Scheme which allows young people to apply for up to £400 so that they can develop their own community projects based on the GCA issues and present their progress at the Conference in March.
The Slam was directed by our regular MC, Andy Brooks, and there were the usual family group breakout sessions led by the university student mentors giving time for co-operative activities, reflection and discussion. The two family group session time slots were spaces for teacher & youth worker training, which involves signposting to other projects and opportunities of active engagement in community projects beyond PeaceJam. Sessions involved in-house facilitation of the day, what works, what doesn’t, support needs, and looking towards supporting groups for the March 2010 Conference. Key-note speakers included – Neil Martin – Human Rights Commission, Trish Sandbach – who gave an overview on the global dimension and Julie Obermeyer from the Peace Museum.
There was an opportunity for all groups to speak about what projects they are involved in their local communities. The day ended with a fantastic performance by two rap artists – Bilal and Hassan, with MC Andy Brooks and one of the new groups from Rochdale who took part in the Rap Workshop. We have had very enthusiastic feedback from everyone, and the event for the 35+ students who had an important part to play in organising the event has provided them with a fantastic opportunity to learn, and share their skills and inspire other y/p – some who would never dream of university or further education as an opportunity for them – until now!
Venue: University of Bradford
Downloads
Poster of the Slam (7mb)
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PeaceJam Youth Conference 2009
7-8 March 2009 PeaceJam UK Youth Conference
With Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi from Iran . She was the first Muslim woman to:
receive the Nobel Peace Prize when she was honoured in 2003. She was also the first ever woman judge appointed in Iran. However, after the 1979 Revolution prevented women from serving as judges, she switched her attention to defending human rights cases, especially those affecting women and children, She is a strong defender of democracy and, as she still lives in Iran , continues to suffer harassment by the current government due to her views. Around 250 young people will get to meet and quiz the Nobel Laureate, continue their discussions in small groups facilitated by our carefully trained and screened student mentors, get a taste of practical voluntary and solidarity work, design and present their own PeaceJam Global Call to Action projects, and participate in lively and informative workshops. It’s an unbeatable mix of fun, seriousness, yummy food, funky music (early Saturday evening), and new friendships. Come and Make a Difference!
Places are limited so contact us SOON to order your resource pack and register. We can support you in getting PeaceJam up and running in your school or youth group, and in bringing young people to a truly life-changing weekend.
Venue: University of Bradford
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Past events
PeaceJam UK Slam 8 November 2008
The 2008 PeaceJam Slam at the University of Bradford had the theme Celebrate and Protect Human Rights, to mark 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the world’s most important documents. Students took part in workshops on Amnesty International, on genocide in Darfur , children’s rights and exploring human rights through drama. For those young people who attended the previous Youth Conference, it was an opportunity to share how their Global Call to Action projects are going, and acquire new skills through fun workshops. For newcomers, it was a ‘taster’ for the big Youth Conference in March 2009.
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PeaceJam International Global Call to Action Youth Conference
11-13 September 2008.
2,000 young people from around the world met in Los Angeles to pledge positive action for peace and social justice. Several schools from around the UK participated in this amazing event.
Find out what happened at:
http://www.peacejam.org/.
It’s all explained in Penguin’s new book - available on:
Amazon
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PeaceJam UK Youth Conference 2008 – Rigoberta Menchú Tum
This year’s PeaceJam youth conference was the best yet, with 1992 Nobel PeacePrize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum, an indigenous woman from Guatemala and some 200 young people from schools and youth groups in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Gloucestershire. Rigoberta spoke movingly about her experience of the genocide of the Mayan people, which she brought to the world’s attention in the 1980s through her autobiography I, Rigoberta Menchú. She also talked about the spiritual and cosmic vision of her people, especially its close relationship with nature. Rigoberta is tremendously open-hearted and the young people really warmed to her, chatting, questioning, getting their PeaceJam t-shirts signed, and giving her a riotous send-off at the end of the event.
Later, the teenagers rolled up their sleeves for some practical volunteering projects. They learnt how to run a Fair Trade stall at school by baking FT flapjacks, cleaned up recycled tools for carpenters in Africa, tidied a local nature reserve, planted shrubs in the University’s new Peace Garden (uncomplainingly, in the rain!), wrote letters protesting about human rights abuses, and learnt about nuclear weapons, environmental sustainability, how to support villages in Tanzania, and how to volunteer here in the UK.
Saturday night has a huge success as we all learnt how to mambo and merengue, and our in-house DJ Sam Gibson played Latino rap on the decks. On the Sunday, they presented their impressively wide-ranging peace projects: fundraising for a playground in Africa, and a latrine in India, landmine clearance; Fair Trade status for their school; multicultural events, and anti-bullying and peer mentoring initiatives. The weekend ended with workshops involving collective painting, role play, samba instruments, film making with mobile phones, hip-hop, conflict resolution, and practical anti-racism.
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PeaceJam UK Slam 2007
The PeaceJam Slam is a one-day event held in early November. For those young
people who attended the previous Youth Conference, it is an opportunity to share how their Global Call to Action projects are going, and acquire new skills through fun workshops, normally around a specific theme. For newcomers, it is a ‘taster’ for the big Youth Conference in March.
2007’s Slam focused on the theme of Love and Hate: From Racism and Hatred to Human Solidarity, especially on our society’s prejudices about asylum-seekers. The day kicked off with an extraordinary singing and drumming performance by the Mussanzi Family Choir, who related how they had managed to flee from terrible violence in their homeland, the Congo.
For an interview with Rehema Mussanzi click here
After a discussion about the myths in circulation about asylum-seekers, we painted
peace umbrellas, learnt Burmese dancing from Karen refugees and how to raise money for youth projects from the Scarman Trust, painted peace umbrellas, wrote peace poems and raps, played samba drums, discussed violence against women and nuclear weapons, and explored our reactions to difference and day-to-day conflicts.
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PeaceJam UK Youth Conference 2007 – Jody Williams
The PeaceJam UK Youth Conference in 2007 was held at the University of Bradford. The Nobel Peace Laureate who participated during the event was the wonderful Jody Williams, the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the winner of 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. She is outspoken and inspirational character!
What the young people themselves say
‘Jody Williams is a very powerful woman in mind and in words. She believes in women’s rights very strongly and in girls’ power!’
(Libby, aged 13, a UK PeaceJammer who met Jody at the Denver 10th Anniversary PeaceJam)
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PeaceJam Slam 2006
Six months later we held the one-day PeaceJam Slam on October 14 at Bradford. At this one-day conference, youth participants reported back on the progress of their projects, problems encountered and plans for the future, and participated in skills-building workshops around conflict resolution and mediation.
What the young people themselves say:
‘We used to go and fight the kids from Beckfoot School after school. But now that I’ve been to PeaceJam with some of them, well, it seems really silly to do that now.’
Bennett, 17, Nab Wood School, Bingley
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10th Anniversary PeaceJam in Denver September 2006
Some were also able to relate the wonderful experience of attending the 10th Anniversary PeaceJam conference held in September in Denver, Colorado, at the invitation of the PeaceJam Foundation in the USA, which runs the project worldwide. The Denver event brought together 10 Nobel Laureates with 3,000 young people from East Timor, Argentina, Costa Rica, South Africa, Guatemala, Tibet, Burma and the USA. A group of 17 British PeaceJammers, plus adults and Peace Studies staff and students, were able to listen to, debate with, and work alongside, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias, Prime Minister of East Timor José Ramos Horta, Shirin Ebadi, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Jody Williams, Máiread Corrigan Maguire, Betty Williams and Rigoberto Menchu Tum.
The need for PeaceJam was, sadly underscored just 10 days later when a fellow PeaceJammer, teenager Emily Keyes, was shot dead by a gunman who held her classmates hostage at Platte Canyon high school, near Denver. The Bradford PeaceJam Slam was dedicated to Emily whose mother asked PeaceJammers to ‘practice random acts of kindness in Emily’s memory’.
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PeaceJam UK Youth Conference 2006 – Máiread Corrigan 2006
The first ever UK PeaceJam conference was held on 25-6 March, 2006. Some 60 teenagers from Bradford, Coventry, London and Pontefract listened to inspiring presentations from Máiread Corrigan Maguire, a Northern Irish peace activist awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, quizzed her on how she dealt with violence in her own life, and offered their inspirations and ideas on how they too could become peacemakers – at home, at school and in the world. The young people presented their proposals for peace actions in their schools – which ranged from peer mediation, to anti-bullying campaigns, lobbying for fair trade status, and reaching out to foreign students.
What the young people themselves say:
‘Going to PeaceJam totally changed my life. In March I was excluded from school for fighting and was constantly falling out with my friends. A group of three of us were going to attack another girl after school which I now sincerely regret. What I learnt at the conference really helped. I remember what Mairead said—that there is no need for arguing. She changed her life and other peoples’ lives by being peaceful. Life is too short to waste it fighting. Since then, instead of fighting I stop fights! I have stayed out of trouble and at home I get rewards for being good in school instead of punishments for being excluded! I just stopped going around with violent people so much and chose to spend my time with peaceful people. I find this easier because I don’t have to be scared to say the wrong thing. I like myself more now being a peaceful person. Thank you PeaceJam!’
Emma, a 13 year old PeaceJammer
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