Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service

View Original

The Future Belongs to the Youth

Yes! We Can Peacebuilders/Nonviolent Morro Bay has been expanding their vision of a nonviolent community for years. Catch up on the latest below, and learn more about the Nonviolent Cities Project here.

After six years working directly in community on the Nonviolent Cities Project with adults, city officials, school officials, and church members, Peacebuilders finds themselves venturing into a new and exciting direction: working with young people. The future belongs to the youth of this world and it is to everyone's benefit that we in the older generation do all we can to guide and encourage those who will follow us towards peace and nonviolence.

With that in mind, Peacebuilders offered nonviolence education programs to three area youth groups and we are excited to tell you that beginning in the new school year we will have a youth arts center group in Paso Robles creating an art project based on the theme, "We Are All One." We will also have an art project going for a Morro Bay city youth group and hopefully one with our local library, dealing with the issue of climate change and keeping our ocean, bay, and estuary waters in good condition so that they will continue to produce food for marine life and humans and contribute to peace in our world. These art projects will coincide with the yearly observance of the United Nations International Peace Day on September 21, 2022.

This year's International Peace Day theme from the United Nations is " End Racism - Build Peace - Shaping Peace Together." We hope as we give these young people ages 5 to 18 an opportunity to express themselves through art that they will take to heart the principles of nonviolence and how important it is to be accepting and inclusive of everyone and to slow climate change by keeping our environment in good condition.

These issues aren't just issues for people on the Central Coast of California, but are issues in your communities wherever you are reading this. We hope you will join us in these efforts with young people in your community too. It is up to us to empower youth towards a nonviolent life and a peaceful world.