by Ari Fertig, Guest Blogger 

My name is Ari Fertig, I’m in Arlington, VA at the 2007 Department of Peace Conference, and I’m here to blog about the conference online. Today I participated in the student section of the conference with the Student Peace Alliance. Students have come from literally across the country, but all are dedicated to making the world a more peaceful place at home and abroad. After an overview of the DoP, we heard from three organizations that are currently doing great work domestically.

Challenge Day

Challenge Day is a program that goes into high schools to confront the barriers that cause bullying, cliques and ultimately violence. We watched their video “The Teen Files,” which is a little hokey, but tells the story of how one day can change a school. Currently, local communities pay for the program.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids researches crime prevention strategies, informs the public and policymakers about their research and advocates for investment in programs proven effective by research. It focuses on crime prevention that starts with helping childhood development. Specifically it focuses on four parts: Child abuse and neglect, early education, after-school programming, and troubled youth (including recidivism rates to juvenile detention centers).

Help Increase the Peace Program

Help Increase the Peace works to build community and participates in conflict resolution, especially focusing on youth empowerment. Youth and adults get paid for their time to work on community service projects, improve communication skills, and find common group through activities. They believe that change happens through networks of people talking to each other. After a break, college and high school students learned about creating their own Students for Peace organization on their campuses and discussed strategies in effective organizing. It was a very productive meeting and a great end to the first day. I cannot wait for tomorrow, there will be some great speakers!