
Esquivel meeting a PeaceJam Juniors student
We are happy to say that the 2011 Great Lakes PeaceJam Youth Conference was a success! On April 2nd and 3rd, high school PeaceJam students gathered from all over Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to hear from 1980 Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and to engage in education and service across Kalamazoo. Great Lakes PeaceJam Staff and Volunteers enjoyed the opportunity to engage and interact with PeaceJam youth and their advisors, as well as meet many new students.
As a part of the weekend’s events, students served the broader community by participating in activities from gardening and home-building, to mentoring younger children and contributing to a Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit. As is always the case, PeaceJammers took up these projects with great energy and enthusiasm. We thank them for their hard work. We also would like to say thank you to all of the organizations that hosted our young people.
Students also participated in various workshops ranging in topics from Immigration and Health Care, to Tai Chi and Non-Violent Communication. Thank you also to our many workshop presenters who so generously gave of their time to provide important education to our PeaceJam youth.
We truly are proud of PeaceJam Ambassadors across our region and are inspired by their tenacity. We had an amazing time and look forward to seeing everyone again this Fall!

Southside (Lansing) club presenting their project

Loy Norrix (Kalamazoo) presenting their project

Euclid (Ohio) presenting their project

Kalamazoo Central presenting their project

Students working at Fair Food Matters

Student repairing bikes for Open Roads

Students having fun during conference
Links: