Dave Gilbert: PeaceJam: A Billion Acts of Peace

PeaceJam is a non-profit educational foundation that works to inspire young people around the world through the lives and work of a dozen Nobel Peace Laureates. Based in Denver, they have been working with youth across the globe since 1996. In 2014 they launched the ‘1 Billion Acts of Peace’ campaign in partnership with Google and other corporate sponsors, to inspire and record a billion peaceful actions by 2019. PeaceJam’s “Peace Starts with Me” campaign was launched on the International Day of Peace, September 21. The PeaceJam curriculum has versions for elementary, middle and high school youth as well as college-agers. They also are developing documentary films about each of the Laureates; the film about Desmond Tutu, “Children of the Light” premiered at Monte Carlo in June, and at Columbia U in September. Dave tells us, “I was drawn to PeaceJam when my granddaughter learned of it and told her dad. He thought it might be an activity that she and I could do together. Upon learning that there is virtually no PeaceJam programming in the greater NJ/NYC/PA area, I decided to try to promote establishment of what I view as a vital program for today’s young people who will be our future leaders. My wife and I live in Maplewood; I’m mostly retired but still doing occasional consulting work in the insurance field.” Take a look at www.peacejam.org for more information about the foundation and the Nobel Legacy Film Series. The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County is a progressive non-theist religion dedicated to living ethically in a complex world. Founded in l876 and established in Maplewood in l945, over the years the ethical culture movement (known as The American Ethical Union) has been instrumental in launching Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, Visiting Nurses, New York Settlement House, Fieldston School, and National Ethical Service at the UN. The Society began a long-running Ethics for Children program and most recently, Essex Time Exchange (a time bank facilitating the exchange of services) among other initiatives. The Maplewood Society was the first peace site in the country. Its motto is: to act so as to bring out the best in ourselves by bringing out the best in others.