International Day of Peace

One constituent's proposal to participate in the United Nations' (UN) International Day of Peace (IDP) youth conference in 2005 has resulted in a long-term partnership with the UN and inspired RSYP youth to participate directly in the global community.

The NGO planning committee for IDP asked RSYP to join the planning efforts for the annual UN youth conference.  RSYP's role on this committee is to create events and projects that will raise awareness about IDP among youth on the local, national and international levels, with the goal of engaging youth in reducing violence within their communities.  The participation of several dedicated RSYP constituents on the planning committee is helping to change perceptions of what young people are capable of, and is ensuring that youth have a strong voice in the organization of the youth conference (previously planned solely by adults).  RSYP has brought more than 70 youth to the UN to participate in events since 2005, and has collaborated with groups in Pittsfield who have begun to do the same.

Over the last two years, RSYP's young constituents have created music, public service announcements and video projects for the IDP, and four constituents have performed their original music at the UN conference.  RSYP is forming a youth-led media campaign entitled Rhymes for Reason, whichasks youth to create and submit original IDP songs and spoken word lyrics. This media campaign and contest will give young artists the opportunity to identify what peace means to them, articulate this definition in a way their peers will understand, and encourage other youth around them to do the same.

This project was created in partnership with Pathways to Peace and is supported by the Lennox Foundation.