In an era with so much conflict and violence and an ever-changing global political landscape, advocates for peace see effective youth dialogue and involvement as key to creating change. The Drew University Center on Religion, Culture, and Conflict, in collaboration with Seeds of Peace, will host a Community Dialogue Lab June 8-10.
Seeds of Peace is a global nonprofit initiative intending to bridge conflict and encourage conversation. “For over 30 years, Seeds of Peace has brought together leaders from deeply divided regions around the world to build trust, bridge divides and transform conflict through dialogue,” according to the flyer for the program created by former Maplewood resident John Harvey. “This workshop brings those proven tools and practices to our local community.”
With the event, Harvey wants to take meaningful action in the South Orange-Maplewood community. Connecting with Seeds of Peace has allowed Harvey to fulfill his and the late Alan Gerstein’s goal of encouraging conversation among youth on the local level.
“The program is designed to bring together thoughtful high school students, college students, recent graduates, educators and community members to engage in dialogue, relationship-building, listening and reflection across differences — especially during a time when many people feel increasingly polarized and disconnected,” Harvey told The Village Green.
Since 2013, the Center on Religion, Culture and Conflict at Drew University has trained hundreds of young emerging leaders from around the world in the methods and strategies of conflict transformation, interfaith engagement and peace building.
“Throughout the sessions, participants will explore how to engage and connect community stakeholders while building the mindsets and skills needed to address conflict and center dialogue as a strategy for positive change,” according to the Dialogue Lab’s information sheet.
There will be two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, led by facilitators Krish Jaiman and Devany Pitsas.
Harvey encourages local students and educators to register for this event, what he calls ‘a community initiative years in the making.’
“One of our original hopes was to have strong participation from SOMA high school and college students,” he said. “Importantly, there is no cost to participate in the program.”
Students and interested participants can sign up for the event by emailing [email protected].
Ella Levy is a 12th grade student at Columbia High School and is working with Village Green as part of a grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
