PLAY(Peace Leadership Academy for Youth) Pilot Program

On April 6, the HWPL Georgia branch conducted a pilot program called the ‘Leadership Academy for Youth’ incorporating peace education at the YMCA center in DeKalb County, Atlanta, Georgia. A total of ten juveniles participated in the program. Based on the insights gained from this pilot, HWPL Georgia branch plans to officially launch the peace education program this summer.

Last September, local leaders from Atlanta who attended the ‘9th Anniversary of the HWPL World Peace Summit’ in South Korea pledged to promote a culture of peace with HWPL. After returning to the U.S., they held three meetings to discuss spreading this culture. They identified after-school peace education program as a solution to youth violence and crime, which are significant issues in the U.S., and began developing a curriculum with HWPL. This led to the pilot operation of the PLAY program.

The program was based on HWPL’s Peace Education 1, ‘The Original State of All Creation,’ and included music and art activities with themes of ‘diversity’ and ‘cooperation.’ Initially, the students participated passively, but as the class progressed, they became more engaged and active.

Jason Aldredge, the Founder of Compromising Choices, who co-conducted this education, emphasized the necessity of peace education for youth. He mentioned that peace education is meaningful as it offers new knowledge to the children.