Children's peace initiatives

Alicia
St Mary's Primary School
Australia

Who: A group of our hardworking and clever students from year 3, 4 and 5 came together to explore the different ways that we could understand what 'peace' is and how we can achieve it.

What: We students discussed different ways to promote PEACE in our school. We investigated five different aspects. After lots of research and creative thinking we put together five illustrated booklets that place peace in all different situations. These booklets about PEACE are as follows:

Booklet 1: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?

• This informs readers about what the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded for.
• It also profiles some of the famous winners of this prize such as; Mother Teresa, Aung San Suu Kyi, The Dala Lama, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

Booklet 2: Ideas to promote peace: in the classroom, in the community, in the world

• This lists playground rules that promote peace at St Mary's.
• There's also a list of ways to promote peace in our local community such as; writing letters and articles to local newspapers that support peace, writing peace poetry that will inspire people to solve problems creatively and learning to say sorry more and meaning it.

Booklet 3: 'Peace poems': a selection of poems about peace from children throughout the world

• These poems written by children are from South Africa, the USA, Australia and other countries too.
• The poems talk about peace as being like whispers, like mountains reaching up to the sky and like stars that light up the darkness.
• Some poems describe peace as a puzzle that must be worked through slowly.
• And other poems see peace as the opposite to war and conflict.

Booklet 4: Peace quotes: famous quotes about peace from ancient times to modern

• From the ancient words of Herodotus who said, 'In peace time, son's bury their fathers, but in war the order nature is changed and fathers bury their sons.'
• To Mother Teresa who said, 'Peace starts with a smile'
• And from Abraham Lincoln (USA), he said, 'The best way to destroy an enemy is to make them a friend'.

Booklet 5: Children's games that promote peace booklet

• The 'Peacemaker Game from Canada'.
• 'Hello in Different Languages' – a multicultural activity.
• 'The Story of My Name' – a get to know you game.
• 'World Meal' – understanding how to share a simple meal; like rice, and a few vegetables.
• 'Working it Out' – three cooperative games that use newspaper.
• 'The Rotor Peace' – a UN board game to raise children's awareness of peace.
• 'Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes' – designed to illustrate that racism is something that is learnt and conditioned but must be challenged.
• A range of physical games from other cultures which require teamwork.

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