BRIDGES PeaceJam
Change Starts Here!
BRIDGES PeaceJam provides opportunities for students from first grade through high school to study the art of peace and develop their own skills as peacemakers.
Shirin Ebadi inspires peaceful solidarity 
About 300 young people from the Mid-South and beyond sat in silence in the Bryan Campus Life Center at Rhodes College recently as they learned the realities of life in today's Iran. "Did you know that the life of a woman in Iran is worth half as much as
the life of a man?" they were asked. "Did you know that Iranian citizens are sentenced to
jail for disagreeing with their government?"
The youth were participants in the 2010 BRIDGES PeaceJam Mid-South Conference. The focus of their attention was the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. Ebadi, a lawyer and former judge currently living in exile from her native Iran, captivated the audience with stories of immense violence in Iran and the frustrations citizens feel due to their lack of freedom. Ebadi, an activist for democracy and human rights, is committed to spreading the message of these injustices to inspire youth around the world to stand up for their rights. Her message ultimately though, was about peace.
“We
should continue in a peaceful way,” Ebadi said. “We must fight for our rights
with peace, not violence.”
Brian Cornelius (pictured at left) from City University School of Liberal Arts in Memphis
had heard about PeaceJam from his friends in the past but wanted to experience
it for himself this year. As he
helped paint an inspirational mural at Lester Elementary School, he raved about
Ebadi’s message. “She inspired me
to stand up for myself—not with violence, but with peace. If we see violence, we can capture it,
but not participate, and use it to learn peaceful manners.”
PeaceJam In the Mid-South
BRIDGES is the host of the Mid-South Affiliate for PeaceJam, an international organization led by 11 Nobel Peace Laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchu Tum. BRIDGES PeaceJam provides opportunities for youth from elementary to university level to become agents of peace and positive change in themselves, their communities and the world, through the study of the lives and work of Nobel Laureates and youth-led community action projects.
In partnership with the University of Memphis and Rhodes College, BRIDGES sponsors PeaceJam programs for high school youth from Memphis and Shelby County as well as across Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky. Events include an annual youth conference hosted by a Nobel Peace Laureate at Rhodes College. There are currently students from over 40 middle and high schools participating in PeaceJam programs and events. In addition, four elementary schools in Memphis are currently implementing the PeaceJam Juniors curriculum on a school-wide level.
A variety of new opportunities for high school students to get involved with PeaceJam during spring and summer breaks are upcoming! Do you want to have more information, establish and/or improve an existing PeaceJam Program at your school organization? If so, contact Program Director, Dana Wilson!
Global Call to Action (GCA)
In September of 2006, ten of the laureates linked to PeaceJam, including the Dalai Llama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, gathered in Denver with more than 3,000 young people from across the globe as part of a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the PeaceJam Foundation. At the gathering, the laureates and young people launched a 10-year Global Call to Action designed to tackle some of the toughest problems facing our planet. Since then the Global Call to Action has become a centerpiece of what PeaceJam organizers call one of the "greatest youth movements of all time." Check out the video below to learn more about the Global Call to Action.