The Generation Peace Forum
In late February 2008, with the survey findings as a basis of discussion, the Foundation convened a Forum of experts to probe deeper into the beliefs of Generation Peace: the way that Generation Peace sees itself in the world and the way that older generations see Generation Peace.
The Forum comprised eight individuals representing a cross-section of these generations. They covered the generational spectrum — from teenagers to those with six and seven decades of life experience — and represented the educational, corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Geographically there were thousands of miles between them. Philosophically they were more closely connected: all are engaged in some aspect of community service.
Participants from Generation Peace:
- Brittany Bergquist, high school student and co-founder of Cell Phones for Soldiers
- April Dinwoodie, founder of AdoptMent, a mentoring program for adoptees
- Angela Perez Baraquio Grey, Miss America 2001 and founder of an eponymous foundation that supports character education in the classroom
- Alan Rambam, founder of SHiNE, which conducts workshops on tolerance, nonviolence and self-esteem for youngsters
Participants from earlier generations:
- Kent Koth, director of the Center for Service and Community Engagement at Seattle University
- Carol Orsborn, Ph.D., senior vice president and co-chair of FH-Boom, a specialty practice group within Fleishman-Hillard International Communications that focuses on the issues of baby boomers and intergenerational mentoring
- Len Traubman and Libby Traubman, husband-and-wife co-founders of the Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemaker’s Camp and the Living Room Dialogue Groups
Profiles of each participant may be found in Appendix B.
The forum first convened electronically, through an email dialogue that began February 25, and then via a one-hour teleconference on February 27. The Forum was moderated by John Armato of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications. A written transcript, complete audio recording, and select audio sound bites from the Forum are available upon request.
What follows are the key themes that emerged from this dialogue.
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