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PeaceJam 10th Anniversary Youth Conference features Nobel Peace Laureates
The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado has donated $65,000 to PeaceJam in
support of its 10th Anniversary Youth Conference, scheduled to be held Sep 15
- 17, 2006 at the University of Denver. The conference will feature as many
as 10 Nobel Peace Laureates, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, and is anticipated to attract 3,000 young people from around the world.
Dawn Engle, co-founder of PeaceJam, says that the power of diverse
backgrounds to affect change is fundamental to programs such as the upcoming
Youth Conference, which is attracting young people from 31 different countries.
“All youth are vulnerable to the pressures of life, and all are capable of
making the world a better place. The cornerstone of the conference is to give
young people the critical thinking skills they need to achieve balanced points
of view,” she said. “Contributions from the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado have
helped us teach kids that by being genuine, being themselves and embracing the
ways they are different, they can achieve great things,” Engle added.
Hundreds of youth in the Denver area have participated in the PeaceJam
program. Rudy Balles, a former gang leader from Pueblo, is a PeaceJammer whose
apprenticeship under Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum helped him discover the
meaning of diversity and open mindedness. Balles is now program director for the
Gang Rescue and Support Project in Denver, helping gang members make better
decisions for themselves and stop causing harm to their communities. “Violence
is taught and endorsed everywhere, but peace is not. Peace needs to be discussed
as a new tool to overcome violence,” said Balles.
For more information, visit
www.peacejam.org or register teens age 14 – 19 for the event by calling
(303) 455-2099.
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