PeaceJam Conferences
Finding peace, bringing it home
May 23, 2010 07:00 AM
By
Emily Zetterholm
reprinted from the Vacaville Reporter
Posted: 05/23/2010 01:02:16 AM PDT
Last month, students and leadership classes from all over the world came together at Oregon State University with the PeaceJam Foundation to meet and learn from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams.
The weekend trip was a life-changing experience. Before I tell you how this trip changed me, you must know how I was before that weekend in April.
From the time I joined my leadership class at the beginning of the school year, all I heard about was the trip to Oregon with PeaceJam and how we would meet a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I heard stories about the lessons they would teach us, the team-building skills we would participate in, and the community outreach we would do. But with my teenage ears, all I heard was that we were staying in a paid-for hotel with our close friends on a college campus, away from our parents.
We left early on a Friday morning. As everyone was placing their bags on the bus, it was easy to tell who went to which school. Students from each school, including my own, were bunched up together in their own cliques. No one wanted to mingle with anyone else. Our advisers came up with the idea of taking out the microphone so we could share what we were looking forward to in Oregon. About three students went up to speak.
The first night in Oregon, we went out to dinner and the atmosphere was exactly what you would find at a high school cafeteria: groups of kids who knew each other eating together, not ready to step out of their comfort zone and meet anyone else.
After dinner, we had our first experience with Jody Williams. She was not what I expected. She talked to us as if she were one of us. There was no tone in her voice to suggest she was trying to give us a "I'm high and mighty" lecture. She was upfront and honest and even sat cross-legged in front of us, as you would with your very best friend at a sleepover. She gave everyone the feeling that they could relax and be comfortable.
The next morning, we were divided into "family" groups. Not a single one of my classmates was in my group, but we started talking about who we were and what we thought of Williams. We were all a little shy. As the day went on, we spent time with each other, ate lunch and did our first community outreach program. The atmosphere around me soon changed. People were talking louder with one another.
After lunch, we had another lecture from Williams. This, too, was not what I expected. She told us about how she had been raped years ago and said she would not be a victim but would continue on her journey to peace. She told us about what inspires her to make this world better. After she was done, she lighted a candle and invited us to come up, tell everyone what inspires us and to place a lighted candle next to hers.
The question hit me hard: What does inspire me to make my world better, and why do I want peace?
I stood up the second I knew and walked with others up to the podium. I told them that my future is what inspires me. I want to know that, when I look back on my life, I can honestly say I did the best I could.
One by one, more kids told their stories. It was so moving to know that we really weren't all that different and we all did want our world to be a better place. It was a turning point that no one saw coming.
After that, everyone really cracked out of their shells. During team-building lessons the next day, we were falling into each other's arms, turning ourselves into human chairs, and making a human conveyer belt to hold people up and pass them down the line. The room was filled with laughter and joy as we worked together.
Soon it was time to pack up and get back to Vacaville. No longer were there cliques of schools, but groups of friends. On the bus again, the advisers pulled out the microphone and asked us to tell about our favorite experience in Oregon. This time, just about everyone spoke. We shared our fondest memories, gave special recognition to one another and described how we were going to change our lives when we got back home, to make it more peaceful. There was an uplifting feeling in the bus that night.
What I learned is that to be peaceful within yourself is a great trait, but to spread peace is the most wonderful thing you can do. I learned that in order to make our world a better place, I cannot be selfish, nor can I turn away a helping hand. I learned that sometimes, to get things done, you have to step out of your comfort zone and work together with people you never thought you would.
I am truly grateful for this experience, and I will forever tell this story.
The author, a Vacaville resident, attends Country High School.
reprinted from the Vacaville Reporter
Posted: 05/23/2010 01:02:16 AM PDT
Last month, students and leadership classes from all over the world came together at Oregon State University with the PeaceJam Foundation to meet and learn from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams.
The weekend trip was a life-changing experience. Before I tell you how this trip changed me, you must know how I was before that weekend in April.
From the time I joined my leadership class at the beginning of the school year, all I heard about was the trip to Oregon with PeaceJam and how we would meet a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I heard stories about the lessons they would teach us, the team-building skills we would participate in, and the community outreach we would do. But with my teenage ears, all I heard was that we were staying in a paid-for hotel with our close friends on a college campus, away from our parents.
We left early on a Friday morning. As everyone was placing their bags on the bus, it was easy to tell who went to which school. Students from each school, including my own, were bunched up together in their own cliques. No one wanted to mingle with anyone else. Our advisers came up with the idea of taking out the microphone so we could share what we were looking forward to in Oregon. About three students went up to speak.
The first night in Oregon, we went out to dinner and the atmosphere was exactly what you would find at a high school cafeteria: groups of kids who knew each other eating together, not ready to step out of their comfort zone and meet anyone else.
After dinner, we had our first experience with Jody Williams. She was not what I expected. She talked to us as if she were one of us. There was no tone in her voice to suggest she was trying to give us a "I'm high and mighty" lecture. She was upfront and honest and even sat cross-legged in front of us, as you would with your very best friend at a sleepover. She gave everyone the feeling that they could relax and be comfortable.
The next morning, we were divided into "family" groups. Not a single one of my classmates was in my group, but we started talking about who we were and what we thought of Williams. We were all a little shy. As the day went on, we spent time with each other, ate lunch and did our first community outreach program. The atmosphere around me soon changed. People were talking louder with one another.
After lunch, we had another lecture from Williams. This, too, was not what I expected. She told us about how she had been raped years ago and said she would not be a victim but would continue on her journey to peace. She told us about what inspires her to make this world better. After she was done, she lighted a candle and invited us to come up, tell everyone what inspires us and to place a lighted candle next to hers.
The question hit me hard: What does inspire me to make my world better, and why do I want peace?
I stood up the second I knew and walked with others up to the podium. I told them that my future is what inspires me. I want to know that, when I look back on my life, I can honestly say I did the best I could.
One by one, more kids told their stories. It was so moving to know that we really weren't all that different and we all did want our world to be a better place. It was a turning point that no one saw coming.
After that, everyone really cracked out of their shells. During team-building lessons the next day, we were falling into each other's arms, turning ourselves into human chairs, and making a human conveyer belt to hold people up and pass them down the line. The room was filled with laughter and joy as we worked together.
Soon it was time to pack up and get back to Vacaville. No longer were there cliques of schools, but groups of friends. On the bus again, the advisers pulled out the microphone and asked us to tell about our favorite experience in Oregon. This time, just about everyone spoke. We shared our fondest memories, gave special recognition to one another and described how we were going to change our lives when we got back home, to make it more peaceful. There was an uplifting feeling in the bus that night.
What I learned is that to be peaceful within yourself is a great trait, but to spread peace is the most wonderful thing you can do. I learned that in order to make our world a better place, I cannot be selfish, nor can I turn away a helping hand. I learned that sometimes, to get things done, you have to step out of your comfort zone and work together with people you never thought you would.
I am truly grateful for this experience, and I will forever tell this story.
The author, a Vacaville resident, attends Country High School.
34 Local Youth Learn from Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize Winner from Argentina 34 Local Youth Learn from
Feb 21, 2008 10:40 PM
28 local high school youth, along with six Solano
Community College students and eight chaperones will
be attending the PeaceJam Northwest Regional
Conference
this weekend, February 22-24
at Oregon State University in Corvallis,
Oregon. Argentinean
Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel will be
the three-day conference speaker.
Students from ten local high schools and youth organizations as well as Solano Community College will attend. They will represent all of the high schools in Vacaville: Vacaville High School, Will C. Wood High School, Buckingham Charter School and Country High School as well as the Boys & Girls Club in Vacaville. Vanden High School, Armijo High School, and Angelo Rodriguez High School from Fairfield will be represented as well as Liberty High School in Benicia and Peoples High School in Vallejo.
Five students in the PeaceJam Club at Solano Community College who serve as PeaceJam mentors at the Solano Juvenile Detention Facility will also be going.
Students will spend an action-packed weekend learning how Esquivel works to defend human rights in Argentina and reduce violence in Latin America. They will also learn about social and economic rights, meet new friends, practice nonviolent/compassionate communication, do community service and personally share their local “Peace Projects” with Esquivel.
The public is invited to learn more about PeaceJam and hear students share their conference experiences at a PeaceJam Reception on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm at Solano Community College, Fairfield, Rooms 402 and 403.
PeaceJam is an educational nonprofit in which twelve (12) Nobel Peace Laureates work directly with youth at weekend conferences to inspire and instill their experience, wisdom, skills and personal friendship in students around the world
Over 500,000 youth, worldwide, have attended PeaceJam conferences with these Nobel Peace Laureates in the past 10 years. Students are inspired! Over 200,000 community service projects have resulted from these conferences as youth learn “they really can make a difference.”
PeaceJam Nobel Peace Laureates include: The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan McGuire and many more. See www.peacejam.org for more information.
PeaceJam Solano, www.PeaceJamSolano.org, is a project of Youth Peace Initiative, Inc., a local 501(c) 3 non-profit organization working with our county’s youth. Ten PeaceJam clubs are now meeting weekly at Vacaville High School, Will C. Wood, Country High School, Vanden Highs School, Rodriguez High School, Armijo High School, Liberty High School, Peoples High School and The Boys and Girls Club on Alamo in Vacaville and at Solano Community College. A PeaceJam club is set to begin soon at Buckingham Charter School.
All high school students are invited to participate. If there is not a PeaceJam club at your school or youth organization yet, please help start one and call Sherilyn Henry at 707-208-0853. We hope to inspire every high school student that they really can make a difference and to give them the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to be a person of peace.
PeaceJam volunteers, financial donors and business sponsors are urgently needed to continue the rapid growth of PeaceJam Solano. With more people involved, we can begin PeaceJam clubs in our county Junior Highs were it is so desperately needed.
Students from ten local high schools and youth organizations as well as Solano Community College will attend. They will represent all of the high schools in Vacaville: Vacaville High School, Will C. Wood High School, Buckingham Charter School and Country High School as well as the Boys & Girls Club in Vacaville. Vanden High School, Armijo High School, and Angelo Rodriguez High School from Fairfield will be represented as well as Liberty High School in Benicia and Peoples High School in Vallejo.
Five students in the PeaceJam Club at Solano Community College who serve as PeaceJam mentors at the Solano Juvenile Detention Facility will also be going.
Students will spend an action-packed weekend learning how Esquivel works to defend human rights in Argentina and reduce violence in Latin America. They will also learn about social and economic rights, meet new friends, practice nonviolent/compassionate communication, do community service and personally share their local “Peace Projects” with Esquivel.
The public is invited to learn more about PeaceJam and hear students share their conference experiences at a PeaceJam Reception on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm at Solano Community College, Fairfield, Rooms 402 and 403.
PeaceJam is an educational nonprofit in which twelve (12) Nobel Peace Laureates work directly with youth at weekend conferences to inspire and instill their experience, wisdom, skills and personal friendship in students around the world
Over 500,000 youth, worldwide, have attended PeaceJam conferences with these Nobel Peace Laureates in the past 10 years. Students are inspired! Over 200,000 community service projects have resulted from these conferences as youth learn “they really can make a difference.”
PeaceJam Nobel Peace Laureates include: The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan McGuire and many more. See www.peacejam.org for more information.
PeaceJam Solano, www.PeaceJamSolano.org, is a project of Youth Peace Initiative, Inc., a local 501(c) 3 non-profit organization working with our county’s youth. Ten PeaceJam clubs are now meeting weekly at Vacaville High School, Will C. Wood, Country High School, Vanden Highs School, Rodriguez High School, Armijo High School, Liberty High School, Peoples High School and The Boys and Girls Club on Alamo in Vacaville and at Solano Community College. A PeaceJam club is set to begin soon at Buckingham Charter School.
All high school students are invited to participate. If there is not a PeaceJam club at your school or youth organization yet, please help start one and call Sherilyn Henry at 707-208-0853. We hope to inspire every high school student that they really can make a difference and to give them the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to be a person of peace.
PeaceJam volunteers, financial donors and business sponsors are urgently needed to continue the rapid growth of PeaceJam Solano. With more people involved, we can begin PeaceJam clubs in our county Junior Highs were it is so desperately needed.
Solano County students to attend the largest gathering of Nobel Peace Laureates in U.S. history
Sep 11, 2006 09:51 PM
Eight (8)
Solano County high school youth and one (1) Solano
Community College student will be attending the
PeaceJam Foundation Conference at the University of
Denver, September 15-17, 2006.
The Dalai Lama of Tibet, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and ten other leading Nobel Peace Laureates will join together in Denver, Colorado, on September 15 – 17, 2006 to honor the 10th Anniversary of the PeaceJam Foundation (www.peaceJam.org). Three thousand youth from around the world will participate in this unprecedented global peace dialogue – nine (9) of those students will be from Solano County.
Students from Vacaville High, Country High, Rodriguez High and Solano Community College will fly with PeaceJam adult volunteers to Denver on September 14th to attend this world class conference. “It is a privilege to be able to send so many deserving youth to this incredible international conference,” says PeaceJam Solano founder and president, Sherilyn Henry. “Many people have worked very hard since February to get PeaceJam started locally. I am expecting that the lives of these youth will be forever changed, and that they will be inspired to become more peace- loving and will help transform the planet.”
The public is invited to learn more about PeaceJam and meet returning students and hear about their PeaceJam conference experiences at a reception on Tuesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. at Unity Church of the Valley, 350 North Orchard Avenue, Vacaville.
The Dalai Lama of Tibet, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and ten other leading Nobel Peace Laureates will join together in Denver, Colorado, on September 15 – 17, 2006 to honor the 10th Anniversary of the PeaceJam Foundation (www.peaceJam.org). Three thousand youth from around the world will participate in this unprecedented global peace dialogue – nine (9) of those students will be from Solano County.
Students from Vacaville High, Country High, Rodriguez High and Solano Community College will fly with PeaceJam adult volunteers to Denver on September 14th to attend this world class conference. “It is a privilege to be able to send so many deserving youth to this incredible international conference,” says PeaceJam Solano founder and president, Sherilyn Henry. “Many people have worked very hard since February to get PeaceJam started locally. I am expecting that the lives of these youth will be forever changed, and that they will be inspired to become more peace- loving and will help transform the planet.”
The public is invited to learn more about PeaceJam and meet returning students and hear about their PeaceJam conference experiences at a reception on Tuesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. at Unity Church of the Valley, 350 North Orchard Avenue, Vacaville.