You may ask “Why teach our children about peace?” There are many answers to this question and one of the most powerful is given to us by Mahatma Gandhi in the quote for my blog post today: “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” In order to overcome all the turmoil and fighting in our world, we must educate our next generation as to how important peace is and how it can be accomplished.
I was fortunate to get the opportunity to speak with Steve Killelea, the Australian philanthropist and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to studying peace. Steve established the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a global think tank, to better understand the intersection of business, peace and economics. The IEP has been recognized for its preeminent work internationally.
Steve has just written a book Peace in an Age of Chaos – The Best Solution for a Sustainable Future. He joined me as a guest on my podcast Be Convinced! Sharing Lifechanging Stories of Hope, Ep. #29, to talk about the work he has done all over the world promoting the study of peace, how peaceful societies can be developed, and his new book.
Peace is a subject that can and should be studied. Many people erroneously believe that peace is the absence of war, but that is not accurate. Steve stresses that peace is a strong positive force and that there are systems that can be put in place to develop and foster the elements that create and sustain peace. Steve emphasized that “peace is the single most important factor in enabling people to reach their full potential.”
For teaching our children, I suggest to begin with introducing books about different peoples and cultures. Helping our children to become more inclusive and understanding of others would be a big step forward. At the website below, coloursofus.com, there is a listing of 33 multicultural children’s books about peace. I also came across a website that has many fun activities for children – globetrottinkids.com.
To learn more about the subject of peace and how it can be taught, please visit:
https://coloursofus.com/21-multicultural-childrens-books-about-peace/
https://www.globetrottinkids.com/teach-peace-books-activities-for-kids/
You can also listen to Ep. #29 on my podcast at www.sorayadiasecoffelt.com.