Greater Texas PeaceJam

2009 PeaceJam Conference - A HUGE Success!!

2009-04-24T11:54:00.008-05:00

We had our 2009 Youth Conference on March 28th and 29th, and it was amazing!

The events started Friday night with an inspirational public talk with Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum at The Rothko Chapel. People from all over Houston lined up hours in advance (in the rain) for the opportunity to hear this global peace leader speak. Afterwards, Ms. Menchu signed books and took pictures with the enthusiastic crowd.

Saturday and Sunday, Ms. Menchu spent time with 150 high school youth from around Texas on the University of Houton Campus. She worked with the youth on service projects and spread her message of "Ending Racism & Hate". These motivated young people were an inpiration to be around as they soaked in what she had to say, and walked away ready to carry the torch and become the next generation of leaders.

We are truly grateful to everyone who helped make the 2009 PeaceJam Youth Conference such memorable event! We can't wait for 2010!

View Pictures Here!!

2009 PeaceJam Youth Conference!

2009-01-26T11:04:00.013-06:00

The 2009 Greater Texas PeaceJam Youth Conference will be here before we know it. It will take place on March 28th and 29th at the University of Houston.

The conference is a two-day event that will feature activities, workshops and projects centering around informing and educating approximately 250 youth on how they can get involved and advocate for the rights of all people, both local and global. In addition, the youth will get the rare, and life changing, opportunity to work alongside PeaceJam’s special guest, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum from Guatemala who has spent her life fighting for the rights of indigenous people. This PeaceJam event, themed “Ending Racism & Hate” should prove to be a momentous and unforgettable weekend for the youth involved.

Contact us (pjam@central.uh.edu) if you would like to take part in this great event and meet a Nobel Peace Prize Winner!

Protecting Wildlife

2009-01-23T14:01:00.006-06:00

We recently ran across a website called Farmed and Dangerous. The site is dedicated to saving wild salmon, as well as other marine wildlife, in British Columbia that are being harmed and killed by salmon farms.

Currently, salmon farms are breeding grounds for sea lice, algae and various diseases, as well as polluting natural water sources with chemicals and waste that are harmful to wild salmon in the open ocean. In addition, the containment nets are the cause of hundreds of marine mammal drownings each year as they get entangled and stuck underwater.

We urge you to check out the Farmed and Dangerous website to find out how you can get involved and help stop the destruction of a valuable ecosystem.

Check out this inspirational video on YouTube to see for yourself.

Hip to Habitat

2008-12-15T12:06:00.006-06:00

The Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) is a champion of helping to restore the environment in and around Galveston. Headed by Della Barbato, their education programs focus on teaching youth about the marshlands of Galveston Bay and how they can help make changes to this important ecosystem.

The GBF's "Hip to Habitat" program was recently featured on Houston's local KPRC Going Green segment. In this video they feature 6th grade students in Friendswood who create their own marshes in kiddie pools with water that replicates that of the Galveston Bay waters. They grow smooth cordgrass in these pools at their school and, once matured, transplant the grasses to marsh areas in Galveston Bay. This is a great way to teach kids about what they can do for the environment and truly makes learning fun.

To find out more follow the links below.

www.click2houston.com/video/18190564/index.html (video)

kprc.envirocast.net/index.php?pagename=news_081117_gethiptohabitat (story)

If you are interested in getting involved with the Galveston Bay Foundation with your PeaceJam group for a Global Call to Action Project on the environment visit www.galvbay.org .

"Spreading" Peace

2008-12-08T10:15:00.007-06:00

A cancer survivor in Maine, has taken "PeaceJam" to a whole new level. Cathy Roberts, a teacher who started Maine's first PeaceJam chapter, has been blueberry jam in her town of Montville, ME under the name "Spread Peace". She got the idea while she was undergoing cancer treatment last year. While selling her jams, and accompanying accessories, she is not only promoting peace, but "PeaceJam" as well. She is a true inspiration for her ability to turn tough times into good times and literally "spread peace".

Read more about Cathy and her "PeaceJam" here.

Friends Come In All Colors

2008-12-08T09:41:00.006-06:00

We ran across a blog entry last week that comes out of Manitou High School in Manitou Springs, CO. As part of their PeaceJam Global Awareness Program, they will be marking students' hands this week with blue, red, purple, black and green marks, which links them together randomly. This encourages the students the interact with other students they normally wouldn't. As they put it, they are "encouraging students and staff to step out of their comfort zones all week."

We think this is a great idea and really puts a spin on what PeaceJam is trying to teach youth. We encourage our readers to give this a try in their school, and make sure you let everyone know its for PeaceJam!

Satellites in the Quest for Peace

2008-11-10T14:46:00.009-06:00

This was a very interesting article. We urge all of PeaceJammers to check it out!

Amnesty International and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are collaborating on Eyes on Darfur (eyesondarfur.org), a Web site that shows before and after satellite images of areas the Washington-based human rights organization believes are, or could be at risk of, being under siege.

The purpose of this project is for the AAAS to go through archived images of the region and compare them to more recent images to produce clear examples of change in the landscape due to conflicts occurring there. AAAS searches areas based on reports to Amnesty International from the region.

AAAS also is monitoring other areas using satellite data. The organization monitors reports of ethnic cleansing in Burma and analyzed images after reports of intentional destruction of opposition party homes in Zimbabwe. In October, AAAS released results of its analysis of destruction caused in the August clash between Russian and Georgian troops in South Ossetia by satellite images taken before Aug. 10 and those taken again Aug. 19.

Check out the whole story here!

Plastic Bags and The Environment

2008-11-07T11:54:00.011-06:00

The Pocono Record based in Stroudsburg, PA recently posted an eye-opening slide show about the detrimental affect of plastic bags on the environment. They recommend that if everyone got themselves a canvas bag or two, the savings to water, soil and wildlife could be enormous.

Greater Texas PeaceJam does its best to reduce its own usage of plastic bags, and we believe this is a very worthy movement. We urge you to check out the slides how here.

You can visit the Pocono Record for more information.

Go Canvas!!!

One Planet, One Chance

2008-10-17T14:21:00.007-05:00

Check out this link for a video produced my Magnum In Motion. It is a troubling picture of what is happening to our planet's climate. It highlights inspiring words from influential global leaders, including PeaceJam Nobel Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama.

The video was too big for our blog...that's how HUGE this is!!!

Visit The Magnum Group Website to watch it now!

PeaceJam at the UN

2008-10-03T14:04:00.010-05:00

On September 19th, the United Nations hosted members of the global community to celebrate the 12th Annual International Day of Peace. The event welcomed many celebrity messengers of peace, including Elie Wiesel, Jane Goodall and Midori Goto. It also included a display of flags of the 192 nations of the UN all held by children.

Also in attendance was PeaceJam's very own Rudy Bailles! Rudy has been a part of PeaceJam for years and was the MC at Greater Texas PeaceJam's 2008 Youth Conference, as well as the recent Global Call to Action International Conference in LA. Rudy acted as the youth moderator at the UN celebration.

We would like to congratulate Rudy, and PeaceJam for their presence at this momentous event for World Peace.

You can read more at the May Peace Prevail on Earth blog!

From Greater Texas PeaceJam

LA Conference Gets MTV's Attention!

2008-09-19T17:00:00.005-05:00

We are thrilled to be reporting that since returning from Los Angeles, we have been getting alerts from all over the web with stories about the Global Call to Action Conference. Besides multiple blogs discussing the event, we were pleased to find a story from MTV News! We are confident that this event and national attention will be a positive step to continuing PeaceJam's goal for one billion acts of peace by 2018!

Read the MTV news story here.

Ike's Aftermath

2008-09-19T11:52:00.002-05:00

To all of our Greater Texas area. We would like to send our best wishes to those effected by Hurricane Ike last week. It has been a difficult time for many of us, and we know the road to recovery will be long. We had adventures trying to get back to Houston from LA to get to our friends and family. We hope that you and yours are all well.

If you are still without power, you can contact Centerpoint Energy's Website to look up your zipcode and see what their estimated day is for return of service.

Anyone who is in a position to volunteer to help or needs more information, can call the city volunteer line at (713) 853-8802 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Non-profit agencies needing volunteers may also call the volunteer line with their requests.

LA Conference 2008! Day Two!!

2008-09-13T11:52:00.002-05:00

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/12

Day two of the Global Call to Action Conference proved to be as exciting as the first. In the morning we were treated, once again, to some rousing speeches by all of the Laureates during the Ceremony of Inspiration. Jodie Williams got the crowd of enthusiastic youth riled up as she pointed out that much of the history learned in schools is not fully accurate and tends to justify, or even overlook, many of the violent tragedies that have occurred. She encouraged the youth to question what they learn and not let violence go ignored, be it in the past or currently happening. "Willful ignorance is not an option."

We were also treated to an appearance by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The crowd of enthusiastic PeaceJammers went into a complete uproar welcoming him to the podium. He encouraged the youth to work for what they believe in, and told them that they all had the power in them to be agents of change. "Nobel Laureates do not just drop from heaven. They are ordinary people just like you."

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/12

The afternoon was spent in group sessions with individual laureates. We spent time with Betty Williams, where she fielded questions from youth about what inspired her to work toward peace. She candidly discussed the events that occurred in Northern Ireland that brought her to the point where she had to say "Enough is enough...I will not allow more innocent people to die." She also discussed how amazed she at the people who turned out with her on that faithful day in 1976.

Her time was followed by a presentation by an environmentalist in Los Angeles who taught us all about the importance of trees to the environment and the power that they have. He encouraged us all to be mindful of the trees around us and to take care of them.

We were also really happy to meet up with two of our own Greater Texas PeaceJam groups who had made the long trip to the conference from Lee High School here in Houston and The International School of the Americas in San Antonio. They were having a fantastic experience and were thrilled to be meeting other youth from all over the world. We are looking forward to seeing their pictures and hearing more about their thoughts on the conference. Next month they will join us back here in Houston for our SLAM on October 25th!

The conference continues to be exciting and inspirational with the presence of the Laureates, but also because of the drive and energy brought by the youth! They are all seem more than ready to go out into their communities and make a difference!

LA Conference 2008! Day One!!

2008-09-12T00:09:00.006-05:00

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/11

Hello PeaceJammers!! We are in LA on the beautiful campus of Loyola Marymount University and the 2008 Global Call to Action Conference is officially underway!! The energy level is extremely high with over 2,000 PeaceJam youth from all parts of the world here to join in this momentous event.

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/11

We started out this morning by heading to Hollenbeck Middle School in East LA for one of the off-site service projects. When we got there we were greeted by members of the Caesar Chavez Foundation (including his grandaughter Julie Rodriguez) to take part in a mural painting celebrating Caesar Chavez, and paying a special tribute to powerful women.

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/11

After returning to campus we were treated to an opening night celebration with our Nobel Peace Laureates, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberto Menchu Tum, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Betty Williams and Naomi Tutu (standing in for her father Archbishop Desmond Tutu). The crowd treated the Laureates like rock stars, and all six gave highly energized and motivational speeches to the crowd of captivated youth. They all stressed how thankful they were for the presence of the youth at this conference, and that without youth there would be no PeaceJam.

From Global Call To Action Conference 2008 - 9/11

(More pictures available at www.greatertexaspeacejam.zenfolio.com)

We are all looking forward to what the rest of this amazing conference and our time with these inspirational global leaders will bring. Stay tuned as we bring you more tomorrow!

- Josh & Jamie -

The Global Call to Action Challenge

2008-09-09T22:15:00.004-05:00

We were recently pointed to this article on marketwatch.com. There is a new challenge available to allow youth to win the chance for a PeaceJam Nobel Laureate to visit their school in person. Read on to find out how you and your PeaceJam group can enter for this extraordinary opportunity:

Young people today want to take action to change the world. At the PeaceJam Global Conference at Loyola Marymount University on September 11-13, 2008, PeaceJam, Penguin Young Readers Group, and the Pearson Foundation will announce a new initiative, the PeaceJam Global Call to Action Challenge, that gives young activists everywhere the chance to work directly with a Nobel Laureate in their own school.

The Global Call to Action Challenge is an extension of the newly-published Penguin Young Readers book, "PEACEJAM: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace," by Dawn Gifford Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff. Through PeaceJam's Global Call to Action, Nobel Laureates including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rigoberta Menchu Tum have asked young people throughout the world to commit themselves to creating 1 billion projects to serve communities in the next decade.

The Global Call to Action Challenge encourages young people to document these projects in digital film and in writing. The Challenge winners, to be announced in April 2009, will get the opportunity to have a Nobel Laureate visit their school during the spring of 2009. More information about entry details and the Challenge can be found in "PEACEJAM: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace" and online at http://www.globalcalltoaction.org/ and http://www.peacejam.org/

As part of the Challenge, PeaceJam and Penguin are joining the Digital Arts Alliance, the consortium of organizations that brings digital arts experiences directly to over 15,000 young people and teachers each year. Entrants to the Challenge may also earn the chance to work directly with the Digital Arts Alliance to create public service announcements, which will be broadcast on television and the Internet. In addition, Global Call to Action projects will be profiled in future books and classroom curriculum created by Penguin and the Pearson Foundation.

Click here to read the rest of this article

Global Call to Action Video!!

2008-09-07T21:57:00.006-05:00

There is a new PeaceJam video on YouTube! It is the new "Introduction to PeaceJam's Global Call to Action". We invite EVERYONE to check it out and spread the word about this historic global movement for peace.

The International Global Call to Action Conference in Los Angeles is right around the corner! We will have posts starting Thursday (9/11) as the conference unfolds to update all of you on this amazing event.

"The Art of Peace"

2008-09-07T21:35:00.004-05:00

In other Dalai Lama related news.....

As a show of solidarity with the Dalai Lama and Tibet, 20 artists have come together to contribute tracks to "Songs for Tibet - The Art of Peace". Included in the collection, which is available at iTunes, is an exclusive track from a personal favorite of ours, Alanis Morissette entitled "Versions of Violence". This version of the song, from her recent album "Flavors of Entanglement", was captured in a dressing room in an intimate pre-show setting. In addition to Alanis, the album features tracks by such artists as Ben Harper, Imogene Heap, John Mayer, Vanessa Carlton, Sting, Dave Matthews, Regina Spektor and Moby (that's just to name a few). Funds raised from the album will go to support peace initiatives and Tibetan culture preservation projects that are important to the Dalai Lama. Check it out!

Dalai Lama is out of the hospital!

2008-09-07T21:19:00.006-05:00

From Greater Texas PeaceJam

Good evening PeaceJammers! We are happy to report that the Dalai Lama was released from a hospital in India last week. For those unaware, he had been previously admitted for severe exhaustion. He will now take time for some much needed rest and relaxation. He is scheduled to make an appearance via satellite at PeaceJam's "Global Call to Action" Conference next week in Los Angeles. It isn't clear at this time if he still will.

We wish him continued best in his recovery and ask you to join us.

A Citywide Celebration of Gandhi!

2008-08-29T11:43:00.018-05:00

ALL CHILDREN CITYWIDE SPEECH, ESSAY AND POSTER CONTESTS
The contest is open to all children in the greater Houston area and is part of the weeklong, city-wide celebration of Mahatma Gandhi Week
September 28 – October 5, 2008.

Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated to the world that Non-Violent methods and Satyagraha (Holding to the Truth) can be used to bring about profound social change and lasting peace. In recognition of this wisdom and effectiveness of Gandhian principles, the Mahatma Gandhi Library together with more than 50 organizations celebrate Mahatma Gandhi Week each year.

Our mission is to increase public awareness of Gandhi's philosophy and teachings, high-lighting the universal values of Truth, Non-Violence, Service and Love.

As part of Mahatma Gandhi Week 2006, a month long celebration, a city wide speech, essay and poster contests have been organized. The winners of the contest will be awarded their prizes by Mayor Bill White at "1000 Lights For Peace" on Sunday, October 5, 2008. Participants can pick up their certificates of participation in the essay contest at the event. For entry forms and more information please visit www.gandhilibrary.org.

Creative Speech Contest
A project to create a higher awareness of the inspiring life and work of Mahatma Gandhi to promote universal values of Truth, Non-Violence, Love and Service. The contest is open to all children in the Greater Houston Area. In a maximum of 3 minutes, children must present a talk on the following subjects:
Age 11 and up - "A Person is a Product of His Thoughts"
Age 10 and below - "Non-Violence is a Weapon of the Strong"
The speeches will be judged on content, presentation style and delivery by a panel of judges. Entries must be received by 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 27, 2008.
Date: Saturday, October 4, 2008
Time: TBA
Place: Arya Samaj Greater Houston at 14375 Schiller Road, Houston, TX
For More Information: Contact Vijay Singh (713) 480-2136

Creative Writing Contest
A project to create a higher awareness of the inspiring life and work of Mahatma Gandhi and continue his legacy of Truth, Non-Violence, Love, Service and Peace. The contest is open to all High School and Middle School students in the Greater Houston Area.
High School Students - In a maximum of 650 words tell "Mahatma Gandhi's influence of the Civil Rights Movement in America"
Middle/Junior High School Students - In a maximum of 400 words tell "My favorite Peaceful Person"
Essays must be typed, 12-point font and double spaced with word count typed at the bottom. Entries must be enclosed in a report cover. Please attach the Entry Form. Essays must be received no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, September 19, 2008. No late entries will be considered. Essays may be mailed to the address below or faxed to (713) 785-3910.
Mahatma Gandhi Library
C/O Atul B. Kothari
3300 S Gessner Road, Suite 249
Houston, TX 77063
For More Information: Contact Victor Schill (713) 466-4438

iTribute (Multimedia) Contest
A project to create a higher awareness of the inspiring life and work of Mahatma Gandhi and continue his legacy of Truth, Non-Violence, Love, Service and Peace. The contest is open to all High School and Middle School students in the Greater Houston Area.
High School Students - In a maximum of 10 minutes in multimedia format present "Gandhji Leadership by Example"
Middle/Junior High School Students - In a maximum of 5 minutes in multimedia format present "Digital Collage of Gandhiji's Life"
The deadline for entries is 5:00 pm, September 19, 2008. All entries must be accompanied by the entry form. The winning entries will be screened at "1000 Lights For Peace." The entries must be mailed to the following address:
PO Box 820648
Houston, TX 77282

International PeaceJam Conference!

2008-08-29T10:40:00.004-05:00

The 2008 Global Call to Action Conference is almost here! Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles will be hosting 3,000 youth from around the world and seven Nobel Peace Laureates for PeaceJam's second international youth conference Septmeber 11-13. It is sure to be a momentous event! PeaceJam groups from every corner of the globe will have an opportunity to present their Global Call to Action Projects they have been working on. In addition, PeaceJam will be launching the Global Call to Action Website, where we hope to inspire 1 billion acts of peace over the next ten years.

Stay tuned as we bring you updated information from the conference in just two weeks! We'll be posting news and hopefully even some pictures!

What is PeaceJam up to?

2008-08-29T10:09:00.005-05:00

For those of you that don't already know, the National PeaceJam office has been extremely busy over the last few months. Founders Ivan Suvanijeff and Dawn Engle have recently published a book entitled PeaceJam: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace. The book profiles all of PeaceJam's Nobel Peace Laureates and the work that they do around the world with teens.

With this new book, there is an accompanying documentary and PBS series narrated by Grammy Award winner and activist Peter Gabriel. The series has attracted other musical artists, like the White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys and Flobots, to get on board with PeaceJam and put together a soundtrack.

In conjunction with the upcoming International PeaceJam Conference in Los Angeles, this fall is sure to be a productive time for PeaceJam and all of its Affiliates (that's us!!).

The Croc Hunters!

2008-08-29T09:09:00.006-05:00

We really loved reading this story when it came across our computers the other day. This is from the Evergreen PeaceJam group in Colorado that is working with the PeaceJam Juniors curriculum. It goes to show how being in PeaceJam can influence kids to see that "one person can make a difference". Please read on and be inspired!

From http://denver.yourhub.com/Evergreen/Stories/News/General-News/Story~512799.aspx

Liz Cohen doesn't mind opening up her home to a good cause. Which is what she did Aug. 25 for the 10 to 12 elementary school-age children in Evergreen who want to get involved in community service.

Cohen, who has been active in community grass roots efforts such as the North Evergreen Activity Trail and is the president of the Bergen Leadership Council at the Bergens, said when she and a group of 15 to 20 families decided to work together to encourage such service, it was based work done by Julie Maus and Cindy Gottlob to start a local Peace Jam group.

"The kids wanted to do service projects and learn about the good things in the world," Cohen said.

She said the Evergreen Peace Jam group worked from a Peace Jam curriculum that encouraged kids ages 5 to 11 to start out by studying the personal experiences of Nobel Peace Laureates.

"Their reading about Nobel Peace Laureates sparked an interest in getting active," Cohen said.

When the children in the group wanted to apply what they learned, they started by collecting pencils at Bergen Meadow Elementary last May. The pencils were packaged and sent to children in South America under the leadership of Caren Henry.

"In addition to studying about the good that people do, they were inspired to do something good themselves," Cohen said.

Actions such as the pencil collection blossomed into their current mission: To collect used Crocs so the popular shoes can be recycled into shoes for children in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

Rita Lochhead's children are part of this young group that's out to help others.

She said, "We wanted to get the kids involved in community service to teach them they can make a difference."

Lochhead said her daughters, who attend Montessori School of Evergreen, were excited after they came home from the meeting at Cohen's house to discuss the promotion and develop materials for the Evergreen Croc collection.

Cohen said she looked to the charity arm of Crocs, Solesunited.com, for guidance on how to set up collection bins and let the kids take over from there.

Cohen said she didn't do much at the meeting with the children.

"The kids came up with the posters and a publicity announcement for their classrooms and a blurb for the school newsletter," she said.

Student Amelia Lochhead said, "I was on the publicity committee and my sisters were on the box design committee."

Before they went home, the children went door to door in Cohen's neighborhood and asked nearby residents for old their old Crocs.

Lochhead said when her children returned from the marketing meeting, they were excited about where they were going to put the collection boxes and implored her to give them her pair of the colorful shoes.

"I had to tell them, 'but, I still wear them!'"

Lochhead said, "We are always trying to find things the kids can do to become involved and ways to show them what's good in the world isn't just about getting to the soccer game. We want them to think about the spiritual side of giving and how you can feel good about helping people. It expands them a little bit."

Head of school at Montessori Betsy Hoke said, "One of the goals at Montessori of Evergreen is to encourage the students to look beyond themselves to help others locallly and globally. We're excited to support this drive because it came from the students' inspiration."

Saving animals one cupcake at a time

2008-08-18T16:09:00.004-05:00

We recently ran across this post on one of our favorite blogs, Have Fun - Do Good. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Australia is fund raising by selling cupcakes (this includes special ones for dogs called "pupcakes").

This sounds like a great method to raise money for any group, whether it be for their own event or to help out another organization. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone that would turn down a cupcake, especially a good cause one!

Read more here!

The Death Penalty and Undocumented Immigrants

2008-08-07T10:31:00.003-05:00

There has been a lot of news about the death penalty recently. As many of you may know, a Mexican immigrant, Jose Medillin, was put to death on Tuesday after being sentenced for killing two females in 1995. A second man, Heliberto Chi, from Honduras, was set to suffer lethal injection tonight but was granted a stay due to his rights being violated under the Vienna Convention Treaty. According to the story, because both men are undocumented immigrants Texas violated international law in both of these cases and were not tries or sentenced in a just manner. In the case of Medillin, even President Bush had asked the case to be reviewed, however earlier this year the Supreme Court had ruled that neither the president nor international courts could force Texas to wait to execute.

Texas performs more death penalty executions than any other state in the nation. In 2007, of the 42 executions in the US, 26 were performed in Texas, with the next highest being in Oklahoma and Alabama with 3 a piece.

We thought this story held high relevance for issues we talk about quite often as part of PeaceJam (Death Penalty, immigration, human rights). What are your thoughts?

You can read the entire story from the Houston Chronicle

I Am So Happy and Grateful.....

2008-08-06T09:41:00.007-05:00

We recently came across this inspirational video on YouTube called "ReDEFINING The DREAM". We thought it spoke well to the vision of PeaceJam. We hope you enjoy it.

What are YOU happy and grateful for?

Italy: Fighting Crime Through Immigration Control?

2008-08-04T13:04:00.005-05:00

We came across an interesting article in the New York Times today on Italy's new method of helping to fight crime in the country. They are deploying 3,00 military personnel to trains, subways and various embassies to be on watch for illegal immigrants. The newly elected Italian government feel that this beefed up security will be a visible "deterrent to criminals" and to let them know that crime is a serious issue.

Some critics of this plan see as accomplishing the opposite of its goals. They feel that military presence will convey the idea that the issue of immigration and crime is much worse than it actually is and people will end up feeling less secure rather than more.

This all seems to parallel many of the recent immigration debates occurring here in the United States. This idea that illegal immigration brings more crime with it and that stopping illegal immigration will decrease crime. Is this a just way of thinking? Is it appropriate to deploy military personnel for this purpose as some kind of scare tactic? Where is the social justice in assuming that an illegal, or undocumented, person is an automatic source of crime?

Read The New York Times Article Here

Nobel Women's Initiative gets notice in Thailand

2008-07-31T13:52:00.019-05:00

We are very pleased to bring word that The Nobel Women's Initiative, with PeaceJam Nobel Laureate Jodie Williams, has gotten some media attention during their mission trip to the Thailand-Myanmar border. In addition to Jodie Williams, actress and activist Mia Farrow, is one of the high profile members of the delegation who went to show support to the people of Myanmar who are suffering in the wake of the recent cyclone as well as major political struggles.

Yahoo! reported last week on a press conference that the delegation held in Bangkok where Ms. Farrow continued to discuss her stance on the upcoming Olympics in Beijing China. She is in favor of the US protesting the games in light of China's "hands-off" approach to the travesties occurring in Darfur. You can read more at Yahoo! Movies or visit her website for more information.

The Shift Movie

2008-07-29T14:20:00.007-05:00

We came across this site recently and think that it speaks a lot to what we embrace in PeaceJam. The Shift movie is about the fact that people's views are changing and that it is time for all of us to take more responsibility for not just ourselves, but also the world. You can watch the trailer below. Check out more on this inspirational film at The Shift Movie.

Gearing up for a SLAM!

2008-07-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

We are busily working and planning our upcoming Greater Texas PeaceJam SLAM!! This one-day event will be held at Pasadena High School in Pasadena, TX thanks to the efforts of our hosting PeaceJam Group the 77506 Youth Advisory Committee. The SLAM is Saturday, October 25th from 9:00am - 3:30pm. We'll be having 4 workshops centered around our theme of "Social Justice and Human Rights for All". PeaceJam groups will also be providing updates on their work with their Global Call to Action Projects, and we will be announcing our Nobel Laureate for the 2009 PeaceJam Youth Conference at the University of Houston. It should be an exciting day for everyone!

The youth are helping with all of the planning and even designing the t-shirts. All youth are welcome, as long as they bring an adult sponsor with them. You do not have to be in an exisiting PeaceJam Group! New sponsors will be able to take part in an all day curriculum training and learn how to implement PeaceJam in their school, church or community. Please contact us for registration information at pjam@central.uh.edu. Flyer coming soon!!