Peace by PEACE began
as the Peace Games Program, which was started at the University of Connecticut
at Storrs by Francelia Butler, Professor Emerita of Children's Literature.
Professor Butler believed that it was possible to use cooperative games
to teach children the concepts of cooperation and conflict resolution.
She reasoned that the program could be both fun and informative, providing
children with the opportunity to learn through enjoyable games. The
ultimate goal of the program was to have children create their own Peace
Game, a game which would incorporate the concepts that they had learned
during the program. The students would then gather together at the Peace
Games Festival, which was a day-long event designed to showcase the games
and allow the students to meet each other and play each other's games.
After several years
at the University of Connecticut, the program moved to Harvard in 1990
with the support of Dr. Butler, where it was instituted as a member organization
of Philips Brooks House Association, an umbrella organization designed
to foster and support Community Service Groups in the Cambridge/Boston
Area.
Peace Games at Yale
was formed in 1993, when a group of Yale students taught the Harvard curriculum
at a Glastonbury, Connecticut middle school and attended the festival with
these students.
1994 marked the first
year that the complete program, with both classroom and festival components,
was taught at Yale. 1994 also marked the formation of another sister
program, Peace Games in New York City. PG in NYC is a member organization
of Community Impact, a community service umbrella organization at Columbia
University.
The 1994 Peace Games
at Yale curriculum was taught to approximately 400 middle school students,
with more than 100 of these students attending the Peace Games at Yale
Festival, held at Yale in April, 1995.
The Peace Games at Yale
Program was expanded in 1995. The curriculum was expanded to five weeks,
and the scope was extended. The curriculum was taught to almost 600
New Haven Middle School students. More than 300 of these students attended
the second Peace Games at Yale festival, held at Yale in early April.
In 1996, Peace Games
expanded its curriculum to eight weeks. The curriculum included lessons
on diverse topics, such as Racism in the Community and Violence and Conflict:
The Story of Quentin Carter. The curriculum was taught to more than
600 New Haven Middle School Students, with many of them attending the festival
held on March 30, 1996.
In 1998, Peace Games changed its name to Peace by PEACE, which stands for Playful Explorations in Active Conflict-Resolution Education. Peace by PEACE became an international organization. In the 2000-2001 years, the International group included Peace by PEACE affliates from Yale, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Atlanta. The program is continuing to grow and expand to more areas. In 2001, Peace by PEACE at Yale was taught to over 300 students, with about 100 attending a fantastic Festival in the spring.