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| Desmond Tutu and Dalai Lama |
PeaceJam was launched in February 1996 by Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff. It is a non-profit international education programme through which youngsters interact with Nobel Peace laureates at conferences and work on projects through PeaceJam clubs. The PeaceJam Foundation, which works in India as well, has 12 Nobel Peace Laureates as members. DAWN ENGLE speaks to Sudeshna Banerjee on the occasion of BBC World airing a documentary on PeaceJam.
What led your colleague Ivan Suvanjieff to think of PeaceJam?
Ivan was living in a poor Mexican neighbourhood and Denver had just gone through the “Summer of Violence” where gang killings had hit a new high. He had watched the children in his neighbourhood grow from toddlers into gun-toting teenagers and selling drugs. He was friends with them. One day they tripped over the topic of South Africa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The kids became animated and expressed their respect for him and his efforts for non-violent change. They had no idea who the President of the US was, but they were interested in Tutu. This interaction gave Ivan the idea to bring Nobel Peace Prize winners together as role models for the youth.
When did you first meet the Dalai Lama?
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| Darkness to light:A girl decorates a stairway at St James School with diyas. For 150-odd underprivileged children, Diwali celebrations started as early as Thursday when the Interact Club of the school organised a magic show, a band performance, dinner and gifts for them. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya |
I had met the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, while working for the US Congress in the 80s. He came as a complete surprise as I was used to the politicians’ “public face” and “private face”. His Holiness was the same in private and in public.
Who among the Nobel Laureates was the most difficult to access? Suu Kyi, for instance, is under house arrest.
None of them were easy to get hold of. Imagine calling the operator in South Africa from a sparse loft in Denver, Colorado, and asking if they had a “listing for Nobel Peace Prize winners”! It took a lot of work, sometimes sitting on their doorsteps till they took a meeting with us. We were lucky that they were allowing Suu Kyi guests during the time that Ivan went to meet her.
Is Archbishop Tutu the biggest influence, considering he is the closest culturally to the youth in the US?
The kids have their own favourites. Many of the native American youth identify well with Rigoberta Menchu Tum (an activist for natives of Central America ), while many suburban kids identify with Jody Williams (landmine ban activist), but there is no set pattern. Tutu is loved as he is such a fun and wise man.
Who do you reach out to and where?
We have worked with students who are locked up in jails, who attend rich schools, and everyone in between. Everyone has problems. PeaceJam operates in the US, India, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, South Africa, England and Kenya, and we plan to keep expanding.
Did you contact Mother Teresa?
No, she passed away before we started our project, which is a shame because she was a great woman.
Is there any area in India you think you need to help out in?
We have done several PeaceJams in Dharamshala mainly working with Tibetan Youth in Tibetan Children’s Village. We have a tentative PeaceJam conference planned for India in spring 2007. We’re also rolling out our PeaceJam Juniors programme in India beginning in October 2006. This programme, aimed at elementary students, includes civics, reading, writing, history, geography, art, music and science lessons as well as cooperative skill-building activities.
Young Metro
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