Welcome to The Challenge, the first day of the iNet student online conference on global peace. Please make the most of this opportunity to talk about today's two fantastic presentations with other young people around the world.

Debra Brydon,
Online Conference Manager

Senior - Finding peace on Earth

Anushka
Pathways World School
India

'All nations long for peace. Leaders negotiate for it. Armies fight for it. Many pray for it. Yet it remains more elusive than ever. But the Bible says that it will come - and soon.' David C. Pack.

The world is filled with war, terrorism, turmoil and confusion. While people have created many amazing technological inventions, they have not been able to 'create' peace. Scientists have unleashed the power of the atom but are powerless to 'unleash' peace upon Earth. Astronomers have calculated the sizes of various planets and galaxies but they cannot find the way to peace. They can find galaxies far away in the universe, but they cannot 'find' peace here on Earth.

In history, when there was a dispute between two nations, war usually resulted. It has been sadly considered a natural state of stability. A quote by Georges Clemenceau, a French statesman during World War One, accurately reflects this state of affairs: 'I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace is an interlude during war.'

There are many reasons for conflicts. Disagreements can lead to people feeling angry or hurt. People generally feel less in control when they are hurt, and they may move into feeling angry as a way of feeling more 'powerful'. People feel that they need to justify their actions. Sometimes, when people can't find good reasons for their actions, they try to fabricate them instead.

Because most people are from different cultures that are deeply religious, people often use God as a reason or excuse for violence or war. People from socially focused cultures find social reasons and people from science-based cultures find scientific reasons. People do this so that they can blame their actions on others or so that they do not have to bear any responsibility.

Conflicts are happening in all parts of the world. In Colombia, the government is fighting a war against leftist rebels and drugs traffickers. In the Kashmir region in India, 30,000 men, women and children have died in the past decade because of violence there. In Sri Lanka, more than 63,000 people have died in attacks and bombings between Tamil rebels and government forces.

Mahatma Gandhi said, 'There is no way to peace, peace is the way'. I agree with this statement, as violence is never justified. We have to consider the main causes of conflicts. Poverty is a threat to peace. Half of the world population lives on two dollars a day and over one billion people live on less than a dollar a day. This is no formula for peace. Up until now, $530 billion has been spent on the war in Iraq by the USA alone. Poverty generates frustrations, hostility and anger. Poverty cannot bring peace in any society. If we are to build a stable peace, we must find ways to provide opportunities for people to live a good life.

Young people should be encouraged and motivated by older people to participate in different projects and development action programs. There should be more opportunities in schools and workshops for them to learn about peace and human rights. They should be able to learn it in a fun and memorable way. Offering youths an equal partnership in projects with adults might make young people much more responsible in their life.

This is what I would like to do for bringing peace: I would like to spread the message of peace in school, and in my community. Hopefully, if you all do the same, then there could be peace all around. Help us make this world peaceful, and a happier place than ever before!

Junior - Look inside first

Pancham
Pathways World School
India

If you look at the planet Earth from high up, it looks peaceful, but when you see it from inside, or from close up, you get to know how there is really no peace here.

What is peace?

For me, peace means that you stay calm in yourself and you are kind to others. If someone does something that makes you unhappy, you should forgive instead of harming him or her in any way. Some people, for example, want to show their anger straight away and hit or fight. This is not being peaceful.

Is there peace in the world?

Yes and no. Yes, because there are and there were many people in the world who are working for peace. Many people have tried to bring peace to the world and what they taught still continues. One example is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. People still follow his teachings. He taught 'ahimsa' which is a non-violent way to protest and bring peace. Martin Luther King Junior also tried to help his community by following Gandhi's teachings. Mother Teresa was the great messenger of peace who brought change to society by giving unconditional love to all. The United Nations Organisation tries to spread peace in the world by encouraging the spread of peace between nations.

No, because this is a big world and people can do anything they want in it. But these days, people take advantage of that freedom. People disrespect each other and countries have wars with each other, instead of solving the problems by peaceful methods. Pakistan and India are not peaceful with each other because, when the British left India in 1947 and made Pakistan a new country, there was a divide between people and religions. Now Pakistan wants to take Jammu and Kashmir, which in reality belong to Mother Earth. So now the two countries, India and Pakistan, are fighting for it.

People do not treat others fairly, which is the main reason for having fights. Whenever there is a problem in a country, the people in it blame each other, instead of first looking at themselves. Some people even become terrorists. They want to have their way by scaring and killing innocent people. This leaves orphaned children, crippled people and unhappiness all around.

What is global peace?

Global peace is when there is no war and everyone is happy. It cannot happen if stronger countries try to take over weaker countries. If we want to bring peace to the world, we need to communicate peacefully if someone is doing something wrong. We should also be tolerant and forgiving. We can create awareness about the importance of peace by telling and showing people that the world right now is torn by war and that, if there is no peace, the world will be an unhappy place. The schools and educational institutions can help by organising campaigns for peace, having exhibitions about people who have done work for peace, and organising events like 'Marathon for Peace'.

Conclusion

For peace to be here in the world, be peaceful to yourself first and then try to make others peaceful. Be open-minded and calm when you tell others to be peaceful. Work for peace and then see if the world has changed or not!