Young People Represent Caerphilly At ‘Peace Jam’

Six young people from the Caerphilly Youth Forum were offered the opportunity to represent Caerphilly county borough at the international ‘Peace Jam’ event recently. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The ‘Peace Jam’ event, held at Winchester University, saw 150 young people from the United Kingdom, Europe and America come together to take part in the two day conference. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Peace Jam have over 20 years’ experience in developing youth and adult leaders in engaging with their communities. The keynote guest at the conference was Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Mechu Tum who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her work as a peaceful of native people’s rights in Central America. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Attendees had the chance to join a number of educational workshops that focused on global development issues. They also had the opportunity to learn about different cultures and to debate key issues around equality and human rights. They also had the chance to listen to the experiences from the Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Mechu Tum and pose questions to her in order to start building the blocks of positive change for the future. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Chair of the Youth Forum, Lauren Prosser said, “I thought Peace Jam was a really mind broadening experience and I gained a real insight into other people’s beliefs and how they view the meaning of peace”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​