The 2009 PeaceJam Northeast Youth Conference was held on April 4-5 at Elms College, where 275 high school-aged PeaceJammers from around the Northeast, along with their teachers and advisors  spent the weekend with Rigoberta Menchu Tum, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1992 for being a peaceful advocate for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and the world.

One of Rigoberta's key messages was that each one of us has a role to play in changing the collective consciousness of the world. If we are to be successful, we must first be conscious ourselves. Offering wisdom from her Mayan tradition, she explained that we must be aware of our connection to the rest of the world - not only other people but with nature - and treat all life forms with respect.

"The most important thing to change in other people is to change their awareness or consciousness of things because if we're able to change their consciousness, we're able to change everything else."

When asked how she found the strength to stand up to violence in a non-violent way, she said "You don't really have to struggle to become strong, because you already are strong," and that being aware of this strength that each of us possesses is fundamental to fully recognizing our potential to create change.

Youth worked in small groups (we call them family groups) to talk about what was on their minds, and deepen their understanding of what they have been learning. They chose a workshop from a broad range topics that included building coalitions across racial boundaries; greening schools; community organizing; fair trade and economic justice; civil disobedience; confronting homophobia and building safe spaces; peacebuilding in prisons; storytelling to change the world; songs of peace; meditation and other practices to stay connected to yourself and others; and drumming as a metaphor for building community and teamwork.

They also learned how to organize a peaceful rally for an issue that they are passionate about, using the PeaceJam Global Call to Action as an example.

Photos from the 2009 Conference

Check out past Conferences:
     2008
     2007
REPORT FROM THE 2009 PEACEJAM NORTHEAST YOUTH CONFERENCE
NextGen Leaders Inc.,
a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is the Northeast affiliate of the PeaceJam Foundation.
Coming soon...
2010 PEACEJAM NORTHEAST YOUTH CONFERENCE REPORT