The PeaceJam Foundation

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The PeaceJam Foundation
PeaceJam is an international educational program
built around leading Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
who work personally with youth to pass on the
spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody.

Nobel Peace Laureates Rigoberta Menchú Tum and
the Dalai Lama
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Our Mission

• The mission of PeaceJam is to create a new
  generation of young leaders who are committed to
  positive change in themselves, their communities
  and the world through the inspiration of 12 Nobel
  Peace Laureates.

PeaceJam Founders Dawn Engle Ivan Suvanjieff
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Members of the PeaceJam Foundation

• The Dalai Lama
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• Aung San Suu Kyi
• Shirin Ebadi

Betty Williams Adolfo Pérez Esquivel President
Oscar Arias Máiread Corrigan Maguire
Jody Williams Sir Joseph Rotblat Rigoberta Menchú
Tum José Ramos-Horta
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The PeaceJam Story

• Ivan Suvanjieff conceived of the idea for
  PeaceJam in the summer of 1994 when talking to
  some gang members from his neighborhood in North
  Denver. He discovered that they not only knew
  who Archbishop Desmond Tutu was, they also
  appreciated his nonviolent efforts toward social
  change. Suvanjieff realized the power of
  connecting disaffected youth with Nobel Peace
  Laureates, as new role models for positive
  change. His colleague, Dawn Engle, had met the
  Dalai Lama during her years of working for the
  U.S. Congress. Engle and Suvanjieff were granted
  an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who
  liked the idea.

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The Need Youth in Crisis

• Most youth do not identify themselves as people
  who can generate greatness in the world.
• Our young people are plagued with overwhelming
  feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness.
• These feelings are universal and transcend
  racial, political and economic boundaries.

• For Example
• 37 of high schools and 30 of middle schools
  nationwide report disciplinary problems due to
  gang activity.
• Bullying in schools has increased from 1999 to
  2003 with 43 of middle schools reporting
  disciplinary problems due to bullying.
• 33 of youth reported being in a physical fight
  one or more times in the past 12 months.
• 20 of Africa American youth and 22 of Hispanic
  youth report feeling afraid at school or on the
  way to school.
• (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
  Statistics Center for Disease Control)

The PeaceJam Foundation was founded in 1996 in
Denver, Colorado to address these needs.
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PeaceJam Facts

• Over 650,000 youth worldwide have participated in
  PeaceJam programs.
• Through the PeaceJam program, more than 350,000
  new service projects have been developed and
  implemented.
• Each student has had an average of 45.5 contact
  hours with their teacher, mentor, community
  leader, or PeaceJam staff member.
• 60 of high school age participants attend a
  PeaceJam Youth Conference with a Nobel Peace
  Laureate and 35 have a personal interaction with
  the Laureate.
• Thousands of new volunteer opportunities for
  youth have been created worldwide.

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PeaceJam Ambassadors

• The PeaceJam Ambassadors Program is designed
  for youth ages 14-19 and explores issues related
  to peace, violence, social justice and
  oppression. Youth study the lives and work of
  Nobel Peace Laureates and the strategies they use
  to address pressing global issues. Participating
  youth create and implement their own Global Call
  to Action Projects, becoming creative leaders who
  are committed to solving the most difficult
  problems facing our world.
• The program also includes an annual PeaceJam
  Youth Conference where youth spend a weekend with
  a Nobel Peace Laureate giving them an
  unprecedented opportunity to share with, learn
  from, and be inspired by a world leader for
  peace.

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PeaceJam Evaluation Plan

• In 2005, PeaceJam launched a
  comprehensive evaluation plan to document the
  impacts of the program on youth participants at
  the K-12 and college levels, as well as the
  institutions and educators that work with them.
  The annual PeaceJam Evaluation is conducted by
  RMC Research Corporation.
• Methods
• Quasi-experimental design consisting of pre-post
  surveys for PeaceJam participants and comparison
  groups of youth who do not participate in
  PeaceJam.
• Data are also collected at the program level
  including descriptive statistics of participants,
  program structure, and quality of program
  implementation.

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Evaluation Findings

• In general, PeaceJam participants have higher
  measures of school, community, and civic
  engagement than their peers that did not
  participate past results also indicate that
  they scored higher levels of proficiency on State
  Education Standardized Tests.

Community Engagement PeaceJam participants
scores on measure of community engagement such
as, I feel proud of my neighborhood or town
increased from pre to post survey while the
scores of non-participants declined. Civic
Skills PeaceJam participants scores on measure
of civic skills such as, I listen to other
people even if they have different ideas and I
know how to work well with other students
increased from pre to post survey while the
scores of non-participants declined. Civic
Knowledge PeaceJam participants rated increases
in civic knowledge as one of the primary outcomes
of their PeaceJam experience as measured by
questions such as, I learned about global issues
and/or international policies and I learned
about national issues and/or policies.
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Evaluation Findings (continued)

• Peace/Nonviolence (including conflict resolution
  and problem-solving)
• PeaceJam participants scores on measure of
  peace nonviolence such as
• Most problems in the world can be solved without
  using violence
• Doing things that help people in other countries
  is important for everyone, even young people
• I learned how to solve problems and conflict in
  peaceful ways
• When I get older, I want to help stop wars and
  fighting
• increased from pre to post survey while the
  scores of non-participants declined.
• College
• 34 of respondents indicated that participation
  in PJ positively impacted their decision to go to
  college.
• 61 of respondents indicated that their choice
  about what to study in college was influenced by
  participation in PJ.
• Social Justice Human Rights
• PeaceJam participants increased knowledge of
  social justice and human rights one of the
  primary outcomes of their PeaceJam experience as
  measured by questions such as, I know and care
  more about social justice and human rights.

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PeaceJam Impacts

• 93 of those who participate in PeaceJam believe
  that one person can make a difference, and 97
  feel that because of their experience in
  PeaceJam, they will be peacemakers for the rest
  of their lives.

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Equal Access to Water and Other Natural
Resources End Racism and Hate Stop the Spread
of Global Disease End Extreme Poverty Ensure
Social Justice Human Rights for All Ensuring
Rights for Women and Children, and Recognizing
their Role as Leaders End Environmental
Degradation Ban Nuclear Weapons and End the
International Arms Trade Disarm our Armed
Consciousness Focus on Human Security to Create
True Security