This article is a part of our series that chronicles peace initiatives around the world. Written by Nanditha Ravindar
We live in a time
where distance is no longer a barrier and diversity is the norm. We work with
people from diverse cultural, religious, economic, and social backgrounds which
is crucial as it is, on the one hand, allowing us to get to know different
ethnicities, religions, and nationalities. On the other hand, however, instances
of racial discrimination continue to make the news a lot more often than one
would ideally like. Many peace educators are of the opinion that once we realize
how people everywhere are largely similar regardless of race, gender,
nationality or sexuality, peace and understanding would eventually follow,
ending various forms of discrimination.
“Our
mission is to improve the wellbeing of those people, around the world, whose
lives are affected by violence or prejudice, by promoting change and offering
hope, support and compassion”.
(Postcards for Peace’s
Mission)
With this
understanding and realization, hoping to achieve peace in the long run, Postcards for Peace was founded in June
2013 by Martin Rowsell as a way of using the now largely forgotten means of
communication to send messages of peace, non-violence, compassion, and solidarity
to people around the world. What started as a small initiative slowly snowballed
into an educational project over the years, while ensuring that money was
raised that could then be utilized to support other charities with similar
philosophies or objectives as well.
Postcards
for Peace
largely works with children in schools and colleges to promote equality in the
face of diversity. Apart from aiming at enabling children to understand how
similar people really all over the world are, Postcards for Peace also helps fund various charities ranging from
those helping people in war-affected areas to those that work towards reducing
violence and abuse in various forms.Postcards
for Peace believes that their initiative will also help eliminate xenophobia, intolerance of other cultures
and religions, as well as prejudices against the LGBTIQA+ community.
Given that the initiative spans numerous countries, they
have ambassadors throughout the world who ensure that they shoulder the
responsibility for spreading the message of peace in their own countries,
making the work a lot more efficient and widening the reach. Further, there are
schools that sign up with the initiative to become an “Ambassador School for
Peace”. The initiative is now well-connected throughout the world and
currently has ambassadors in 26 countries around the world ranging from
Afghanistan, Burundi, Canada, and France to Northern Cyprus, Syria, Portugal,
Vietnam, United Kingdom, and India to name a few. The initiative is constantly
on the lookout for more volunteers in order for their work to reach more countries
and more children.
In order to take on a
holistic approach to peace education, the website of Postcards for Peace also lists peace books for young and older
audiences while coming up with blog posts on various pertinent issues such as mental
health, sexual discrimination faced by minorities, etc. Texts are carefully
selected keeping in mind various criteria in order to ensure that people read
solid written works that enable to spread the message of love and peace, which
is much needed in today’s digital age which largely tries to spread negativity
and hatred.
To know how to sign up
to become an Ambassador for this initiative or to read peace books, or to donate, visit their official website here.
