PEACEJAM -LIBERIA (PJLIB 2023)
5TH ANNUAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
PEACEJAM LIBERIA 5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE (PJLIB)
The PeaceJam Foundation (PJF/ PJHQ) is a US-based global youth organization led by Nobel Peace Laureates. It was founded in 1993 by Ivan Suvanjieff and his wife, Dawn Engle. The organization serves as an educational outreach program for Nobel Peace Laureates to youth worldwide.
PeaceJam is hosted in over Fifty (50) Countries worldwide. It started operations in Liberia in 2012 through the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Madam Leymah Roberta Gbowee’s foundation, the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA). PeaceJam Liberia (PJLIB) is one of the numerous projects under the Transformative Leadership Initiatives (TLI) Program/ Core Priority Investment Area (CPIA) of the GPFA. The PJLIB hosted this event as the PJLIB Annual Youth Leadership Conference (YLC) to create a generation of young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities, and the world through the inspiration of fourteen (14) Nobel Peace Laureates who passed on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody.
PEACEJAM - LIBERIA (PJLIB)
This year’s YLC was held under the theme: “Engage, Activate, and Transform for Peace (EAT4PEACE)” at the Liberia Baptist Women Missionary Union (LBWMU); Baptist Youth Camp Falconer (BYCF) on the Robertsfield Highway.
Madam Leymah R. Gbowee,
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, GPFA Founder & President
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Roberta Gbowee is a Liberian Peace Activist, trained Social Worker, and Women’s Rights Advocate, a Humanitarian, a fierce Advocate for Justice; who speaks Truth to Power Without Fear or Favor, an outspoken Supporter, an Advisor for numerous organizations, a highly sought-after Speaker Internationally with her Speeches to advance Women’s Rights, and Women, Peace & Security (WPS). Madam Gbowee serves as a Guest Lecturer at many prestigious universities around the world. She is the current Executive Director of the Gender, Law, and Transformative Peace Initiative now Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law and former Executive Director of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Program at the Columbia University’s Earth Institute. She is the Founder and current President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA) and Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa-USA (GPFA-USA). She also founded the National Peace & Reconciliation Initiative and is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of Women, Peace, and Security Network–Africa (WIPSEN-A). Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace (WoLMAP); bringing together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war in 2003 – chronicled in the memoir; “Mighty Be Our Powers”, and in the award-winning documentary, “Pray the Devil back to Hell”.
PEACEJAM GUEST
Mr. Kailashi Satyarthi
Keynote Speaker and 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi of India used the story of his life’s journey to inspire and encourage jammers not to give up easily in life but always strive to become the best they can be. Mr. Satyarthi who is also a Child Rights Advocate narrated how children in India and other parts of the world struggle and go through harsh labourer work in order to get quality education. At the end of his address, the 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate emphasized his desire to see children have access to quality education regardless of their socio-economic status in society.
Ms. Sumedha Kailash - Co-founder, Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, Wife of 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi
Ms. Lauren Coffaro - Director of Global Program, PeaceJam Foundation
Mr. Brian Rusch - Board of Director, GPFA-USA
Kathy Terry - Staff, GPFA-USA
Clint Henderson, Staff, The Points Guy (TPG)
Ms. Lucia Sicius - PeaceJam Global Programs Coordinator, PeaceJam Foundation
Power-House Members Training
On November 30, 2023, a refresher training/ workshop was conducted for the Youth Team, Associates, Mentors, Volunteers, and Volunteers to provide information about their roles, duties, and functions at the conference. It was also a learning, networking, and brainstorming session for newly recruited volunteers and powerhouse members in preparation for the meeting. The training focused on the following major topics: GPFA Child Protection Policy, PJF/ PJHQ International Safeguarding Policy for Children, Young People, and Vulnerable Adults, and Overview and History of the GPFA as well as the PJF/ PJHQ and PJLIB. These training sessions were facilitated by Mr. Johnny S. Montgomery, Coordinator, GPFA-TLI-PJLIB, and Mr. David S. Konneh, Program Manager, GPFA.
Day One (1) – Friday, December 1, 2023
Early Friday morning, the bus picked up the Youth Team (Associates), Mentors, Mentor-Volunteers, and Volunteers from major pre-determined pick-up points to be dropped at the LBWMU; BYCF along the Roberts International Airport (RIA) Highway in Montserrado County. After over three hours drive, team members arrived at the Conference Site by 11:00 am. The team proceeded to the Dining Hall to have breakfast, after which the host team officially welcomed the power-house members (Welcoming Ceremony) to the Baptist Youth Camp Falconer and took a guided tour of the entire campsite.
As part of plans to kick off the conference, Power-House Members, Lead Mr. David T. Karmon, had a refresher session with power-house members to inform them of activities leading to the implementation of service projects and the strategic road map and scope of the entire conference. After the briefing session, power-house members visited communities, beaches as well as the Liberia Christian Association of the Blind (CAB)/ National Resource Institute for the Blind in the R2 community to map out, identify, and assess proposed service project sites since it was a new venue and environment selected for this year’s conference. Following a long day of work, powerhouse members gathered in the Dining Hall to have Lunch at about 3:45 pm.
Also, power-house members prepared to receive the first batch of peace jammers on board the YesLiberia Inc. 60-seater Bus. The first batch of jammers arrived at the conference site at about 6:00 pm, and the peace jammers, with their Adult Advisors, immediately went to have dinner upon arrival. The other participants came onboard National Transit Authority (NTA) Buses and the GPFA JMMC/ ISUZU 23-Seater Bus, which was donated to GPFA by PJF/ PJHQ/ PJLIB Major Sponsor Mr. Brian C. Kelly, The Points Guy (TPG) in 2019.
Konola SDA Mission Academy - is located on Kakata Highway, Konola, Margibi County. Ten participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
Jimmy Jolocon Elem & High School - is located in Gardnersville Supermarket, Gardnerville Township, Monrovia City, Montserrado County. Ten participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
Amos T. Taybior Institute - is located at Bob Taylor Junction, Bassa Town, Red Light Community, Montserrado County. Twenty participants and two adult advisors from this school attended the conference.
Liberia Christian Association of the Blind (CAB)/ National Resource Institute for the Blind - is located in R2 Community, RIA Highway, Vai Town, Montserrado County. Eight participants and two adult advisors from this school attended the conference.
Weltona Christian School System - is located in Seekey Community, Du-Port Road, Paynesville City, Montserrado County. Fifteen participants and two adult advisors from this school attended the conference.
Cathedral Catholic School - is located at Nelson Street, Central Monrovia, Montserrado County. Ten participants and two adult advisors from this school attended the conference.
Don Bosco Technical High School - is located on 8th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia City, Montserrado County. Ten participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
N. V. Massaquoi Elementary & Junior High School - is located in West Point Community, Central Monrovia, Montserrado County. Ten participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
Conscious Youth Initiative for Nation Building (COYINB) Organization - is located in Kakata City, Margibi County. Eight participants and two adult advisors from this conference.
PeaceJam - Liberia Mentors
Christ Mission Assembly School System (CMASS) - is located in Kuwait, Duala, Bushrod Island, Montserrado County. Five participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
Cuttington Campus School (CCS) - is located in Suakoko, Bong County. Four participants and one adult advisor from this school attended the conference.
William V. S. Tubman High School - is located on 12th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia City, Montserrado County. Twenty participants and two adult advisors from this school attended the conference.
Participants: Esther T. Wilson, Musu Barclay, Favor M. Williams, Alice Barr, Lawrence D. Hoff, Christie D. Joe, Samuel Gartoe, Yatta G. Kpogba,
PeaceJam Liberia Adult Advisors
Day Two (2) – Saturday, December 2, 2023
Opening Ceremony
Jammers gathered in the hall for the opening ceremony, which was one exciting and eye-catching moment at the conference. Though they did not parade in their official uniform as was done the previous year, the students gladly sat in seats in anticipation of 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate and Founder/ President of GPFA & GPFA-USA, Madam Leymah R. Gbowee, who highlighted the journey of the 5th Annual GPFA-TLI-PJLIB Youth Leadership Conference (YLC).
Additionally, students from different schools at the conference demonstrated the essence of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 17 SDGs Moments; this exercise is meant to portray the part that every citizen, precisely youths, has the ability to bring these goals to reality by 2030. Madam Gbowee, however, used the moment to showcase her unflinching support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Family Groups Sessions
There were twenty (20) established Family Groups with a total of two hundred thirty-four (234) students, comprising ninety-eight (98) males and one hundred thirty-six (136) females. While in the different family groups, peace jammers learned about the life journey of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and his Keynote Address and created Family Group Norms and Leadership.
Service Projects/ Project Services
Service Projects/ Project Service being one of the essential part of the Conference was divided into eight groups ranging from A – H. Therefore, PeaceJammers, and Power House Members went into communities and surrounding environments to implement selected service projects, highlighting the act of peace.
Our Rights, Future, Our Responsibilities - (Civic Education & Awareness) Students will hold placards/postal sheets illustrating constitutional rights and duties. Mentors will supervise them and engage street vendors and bypassers to enlighten them.
Beach Sanitation & Awareness (A Healthy Environment is a Human Right) Students, under the supervision of mentors, will clean the beach and educate residents of the beach area on how and why they keep the beach. Garbage Bags & Latex Gloves were tools used in the process.
Vegetable Garden (Hands to Soil, Good, Nutrients)
Learning how to tackle food scarcity and end hunger by Helping to clean up the weeds for the School for the blind vegetables Garden
Global Cleanliness Awareness Campaign - Raise awareness about global issues such as climate change, poverty, or education disparities through informational sessions. They used Garbage Bags/ Latex Gloves
Our Planet, Our Future! - encouraging reforestation to put an end to climate change. The samples of a variety of edible fruit trees will be pre-planted in a bag; mentors will supervise students to plant them in a vertical position, leaving a good amount of Space in between. Twenty samples of edible fruit trees and twenty pieces of small-size biodegradable paper bags were planted at LBWMU - Baptist Youth Camp Falconer.
Community Unity Day: Organize an awareness event to engage with community residents and facilitate discussions on post-election reconciliation with the Baptist Seminary Community.
Day Three (3) – Sunday, December 3, 2023
Ceremony of Inspiration
The Jammers prepared themselves early for breakfast at 8:00 am and later proceeded to the hall for the Ceremony of Inspiration. As the name denotes, the Ceremony of Inspiration is that part of the conference that provides the opportunity for students/ jammers/ participants to listen to stories of the Nobel Peace Laureate/ Keynote Speaker and learn from his/ her life experiences as an Inspiration to the young ones to strive to be an Inspiration. 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate and Keynote Speaker of the 5th Annual GPFA-TLI-PJLIB_YLC, Kailash Satyarthi, encouraged jammers to remain focused, resilient, and determined if they want to achieve their goals. He further narrated his journey to becoming a Nobel Peace Laureate. Mr. Satyarthi also spoke about what inspires him in the face of obstacles and challenging times. The ceremony climaxed with students sharing what inspires them even in the face of challenges.
School Project Presentations
During the PeaceJam year, GPFA-TLI-PJLIB Clubs embark on Community-based Projects in line with the Ten (10) Areas of Focus of the One Billion Acts of Peace (1BAOP) Campaign. At the Conference, they were given the opportunity to present their projects on the Problem they identified, What they did about solving it, and what recommendations they have to curb the situation or prevent its recurrence.
Peace Building - Exploring Initiatives that foster harmony within communities and promote sustainable peace
Developing Healthy Relationship - Setting boundaries and respecting others.
Climate Change - Understanding the Social Impact of Climate Change.
Green Lifestyle - Green living for a sustainable future.
Activism - Harnessing the power of creative expression for Social Change and equality.
Peace & Conflict Resolution - Learning effective strategies for resolving conflicts and promoting collaboration.
Child Labor & Protecting Youth Rights: Understanding Law against Child Labor.
Self-Care- Wellbeing practices for the surface beyond holistic self-care practices that encompass mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, promoting a positive body image.
Women/Girls Empowerment - Redefining success for teenage girls and boys.
After all the activities for the conference were exhausted on the last day, the conference officially ended at 4:30 P.M. Peace Jammers boarded their buses with their Adult Advisors and Departed.
