Pe a c e Ch i l d Int er na t ional Miss i o n : empowering Young People!
“In Papua New Guinea, a Missionary discovered that, when warring tribes of head-hunters made peace, they exchanged a baby. The children grew up with each other’s tribes and if, in future, conflict threatened, the elders sent the children out to negotiate peace between them. Such a child was called, a ‘Peace Child.’” Peace Child started in 1981 with a performance of the musical play, Peace Child, in London’s Royal Albert Hall. The play went on to become a useful instrument in the citizen diplomacy effort to end the Cold War, bringing the first Soviet youth and rock stars to the USA on a cultural exchange in 1986. With the Cold War over PCI moved to tackle the war that humanity was waging against the environment. Following the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, the organisation mobilised youth around the world to develop an education campaign to learn about sustainable lifestyles. PCI produced some 30 books and lesson plans on the subject, each one written, edited, illustrated and designed by young people. In 1999, PCI launched the World Youth Congress series to explore the most useful roles that young people can play in the sustainable elimination of poverty. The first Congress was held in Hawaii; the 6th was held in Rio de Janeiro, ahead of the UN’s Rio+20 Earth Summit proposing ambitious solutions to the impasse of sustainability. It was the Rio Congress that proposed that youth green job and enterprise creation should become PCI’s priority for the next decade. Expanding the network of Be the Change Academies is a big part of that priority but also promoting peace, greater regional collaboration through visa-free travel, using the Peace Child Passport is another priority. We are committed to ending the global apartheid which allows youth from the industrialised north to travel where-ever they wish, while youth in the South find it increasingly impossible to travel anywhere. Everything about PCI is youth-run and co-managed with elder staff on hand to offer guidance as needed. The Peace Child family is always expanding! Mail us and become an affiliate! outreach@peacechild.org 51