YPA PHILOSOPHY
If we are to teach real peace in the world… we shall have to begin with children.
– Mahatma Gandhi
There are an estimated 3 billion people in the world under the age of 25.
Young people are our head, heart, and hands for hope and healing in the world. They seek a new way, and they don’t want to wait. Today’s young people have unprecedented awareness of local, regional and global issues, as well as a desire to solve problems. Non-profit and for-profit leaders often point to the potential of young people as tomorrow’s global citizen leaders. Yet peace is essentially absent from formal and informal education frameworks. Young people are rarely invited to create and participate in local, national and international peace projects.
why peace education?
Conflict and violence don’t just happen. They result from direct, cultural and structural decisions that we make as people and societies. Peace doesn't just happen. It's a practice, process, and way of solving problems.
Research indicates that learning and experiences through which young people can put peacebuilding into practice are essential to building a sustainable culture of peace. The YPA journey is just beginning. It builds on a common belief in the power of community and promise of young people.
Why young people?
Today’s young people have unprecedented awareness of local, regional and global issues, as well as a desire to solve problems. Yet peace is essentially absent from formal and informal education frameworks. Young people are rarely invited to create and participate in local, national and international peace projects.
Young people ages 14-24 are in a significant phase of leadership development and civic engagement. There are more than 27,000 high schools in the United States with an average student population of 1,300+ students. That's more than 35 million potential peacebuilders.
There are 1.8 billion people in the world aged 24 and under.
the ypa approach
The course content and experiences of Youth & Peace in Action help students explore – in an interactive, accessible way – peace ideals that are “universal” to creating a culture of peace. At the same time, reflection and learning leads to project ideas that make a difference in the context of different community needs. From September 2021 through June 2023, YPA will have enrolled 8,000 students, teachers, and community supporters; delivered over 70,000 hours of peace education and mentoring; initiated almost 100 student-led peace projects; certified 2,250 young peacebuilders; and distributed over 1,000 peace education toolkits to teachers.
Youth & Peace in Action aims to engage and equip young community peacebuilders.
A United Nations report titled “The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security” confirmed the value and potential impact of young people as peacebuilders through face-to-face consultations with 4,230 young people, including participants in 281 focus groups and 44 countries. Watch the two short video excerpts below for additional insight from author Graeme Simpson.