Global Youth Peace Summit; the Summit unites our next generation of peace leaders.

Uniting 70+ youth from over 25 different countries, the Summit offers young people, some for the first time in their lives, a direct experience of what it means to live in unity and peace, free from fear and violence. Most of the youth who attend the Summit (approximately 90%) now call Austin their home including refugee and immigrant youth as well as American teenagers who were born and raised in Central Texas.

Over the last eight years, the Summit has had a profound, life-changing impact on over 700 youth. Here is what a couple of them have had to say about their experience:

"I grew up in a world of bloodshed, fear and tears. The Summit was a place where I was honored for being a whole human being. I was embraced with a deep love... a love that I never knew existed... a love that I know if more people in the world felt for each other -- we'd have no more war."
-Evelyn, Former Abducted Child Soldier from Uganda

"The Summit holds a special place in my heart that can never be replaced. Realizing your own true worth is a gift that I have not received elsewhere."
-Lexis, United States

"The Summit made me realize many things. It made me realize my desire to help others. It helped me find my real self."
-Fernando, Palestine

“The Summit was the place where I realized I was a gift to the world.”
-Nany, Guatemala

At the Summit, cultural, religious, and personal differences are respected and celebrated, and our humanity is acknowledged as the thread that unites us all. The Summit inspires youth to honor differences, explore commonalities, and create a community united by the values of love, respect, honesty, community and service to others.

The Summit is also a place for healing. Many of the youth who attend the Summit have experienced firsthand the effects of war, torture, abuse, and neglect. At the Summit, all of these individuals are given a space to be themselves, to heal, to share their stories, to be heard, to be celebrated and a space to be empowered. Through the Summit, the youth come to realize that sustainable peace begins within themselves, and recognize that in order to create peace in the world they must first find peace within their own hearts.

Through dialogue circles, team-building exercises, leadership training, and cultural exchange opportunities, the youth learn how they can positively impact their homes, their peers, their community, their environment, their world and themselves. These young people leave the Summit united as a community of leaders, eager to put their compassion into action by serving humanity.

In order to measure the effectiveness of the program, we will provide delegates with a pre-program assessment to not only record statistics such as native country, language, age, and gender, but to ascertain their levels of cultural understanding, self-confidence, leadership and communication skills, as well as their participation in community service projects.

The assessment will also ask youth questions about their experience in school and with peers, as well as why they are enrolling in the program and what they hope to learn. Following the conclusion of the Summit, the youth will be given an assessment similar to the one they completed for the pre-program assessment.

Measurable goals we hope to achieve are:
- 100% of the youth will report an increase in the understanding and acceptance of other cultures, beliefs and religions.
-Over 90% will report improved self-confidence and self-esteem.
-Over 85% will report an increase in leadership and communication skills.
-80% of the youth will report more of a desire to engage in service projects in their communities.
-75% of the youth who live in Austin will participate in our yearlong One Village Project.

In order to achieve these goals, we respectfully request $5,000 to help offset costs associated with lodging ($15,000 total) and food ($10,000 total) for the youth.