With that said here’s a brief (probably too brief) version of roughly what the Department of Peace is:
What it is
In essence, organizers here recognize that there are systems and structure in place to defend ourselves in time of war (which is good) in our society, but there is a glaring gap in creating institutions that promote peace. In addition, many of these systems also teach violence that we do not want-in our schools, our streets, and internationally.
There’s a bill in Congress to create a Department of Peace with a cabinet level position to advise the President. Most of that bill focuses on various domestic issues; in fact, the bill in its pre-9/11 form was all domestic. It stresses non-violent education, will help fund programs preventing domestic violence, bullying, hate-crimes and so on. The bill will recognize that many programs are successful but have few funds; the department would have a list of approved programs that are eligible for federal grants. It will also establish a Peace Academy, which I am eager to learn more about. The Academy will teach peace keeping skills, work with the police on the local level on prevention and rehabilitation programs. In addition, on the international level, it will help rebuild nations shattered by war by working with (note: not against) the US military on reconstruction.
Funding for this will be equivalent to (but does not detract from) 2% of the Department of Defense budget. What does that mean? Well, we all remember how effective our military was at actually defeating the Iraqi Army. But the real problem is creating the peace after the initial phase of the war. The DoP would have been right behind the military working to create peace builders.
Today I participated only in the student section of the conference. Students have come from literally across the country, but all are dedicated to making the world a more peaceful place at home and abroad. After an overview of the DoP, we heard from three organizations that are currently doing great work domestically.
Challenge Day
Challenge Day is a program that goes into high schools to confront the barriers that cause bullying, cliques and ultimately violence. We watched their video “The Teen Files,” which tells the story of how one day can change a school. Even Oprah has good things to say about the program. Currently, local communities pay for the program.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids researches crime prevention strategies, informs the public and policymakers about their research and advocates for investment in programs proven effective by research. It focuses on crime prevention that starts with helping childhood development. Specifically it focuses on four parts: Child abuse and neglect, early education, after-school programming, and troubled youth (including recidivism rates to juvenile detention centers).
I was given a packet of several briefs, but one in particular caught my eye. It discussed Operation Ceasefire, noting that youth homicides in Boston declined 63% after that program began between 1991 and 1998. They are currently researching why it is that the crime rates in Boston have been going up.
Help Increase the Peace Program
Help Increase the Peace works to build community and participates in conflict resolution, especially focusing on youth empowerment. Youth and adults get paid for their time to work on community service projects, improve communication skills, and find common group through activities. They believe that change happens through networks of people talking to eachother.
After a break, college and high school students learned about creating their own Students for Peace organization on their campuses and discussed strategies in effective organizing. It was a very productive meeting and a great end to the first day.
