PROJECT: TRUCE 20/20
LOCATION: NEWHAM, EAST LONDON, UK

We're always on the look out for organisations that share our values and ways that we can use learning from our amazing peace builders overseas to inform initiatives here in the UK.

Truce 20/20 is a new groundbreaking partnership project between three likeminded UK charities – ourselves, Conflict and Change (a local charity with a 20 year history of conflict resolution within and between different ethnic groups in Newham) and a national charity - LEAP Confronting Conflict (one of the leaders in the field of conflict resolution and mediation and a well respected training provider).

The Truce 20/20 project is rooted in an age old Olympic tradition. In ancient Greece, from the seventh day prior to the opening of the games to the seventh day following their closing, conflicts ceased in order to allow athletes, artists and spectators safe passage to travel to Olympia, participate in the Games and return to their homelands. This Truce was traditionally only temporary, our Truce 20/20 project, rooted in Newham is about bringing alive that tradition once more and creating over a longer term period those truce conditions.

There's a saying from the Olympic Truce centre in Athens that, “Sport will not impose peace, but it might inspire peace”. Truce 20/20 is focused on the unique uniting opportunity the Olympics has for building peace in Newham. Building on the idea of the Olympic Truce, Truce 20/20 aims to develop and embed conflict resolution skills in young people aged 16-21 in Newham. This is with a view to developing a growing Truce 20/20 community of young people who can, with support, develop peace building projects in their locality to help make Newham a safer and more welcoming place for the Games.

The project has been running for over a year and three groups of Truce 20/20 participants have been trained and are now developing and delivering projects in their community. When asked what motivated them to participate in the Truce 20/20 project one of the participants said, "There are many problems in Newham – lately there have been lots of issues with gun and knife crime. This is taking the first steps towards peace in Newham and that is why I want to be part of it."

The Truce 20/20 project has three stages.

In the first stage our young peace builders participate in an accredited Quarrel Shop course run by LEAP, which trains individuals in the skills of conflict resolution and mediation and equips them with workshop facilitation techniques and the confidence to enable the young people to work with their peers in local youth organisations and other settings. The training develops their personal skills in managing their own attitudes to anger and violence and gives an understanding of the costs and gains of conflict that will be beneficial in every day lives and relationships.

In the second stage the truce participants get the chance to learn from some of Peace Directs' international peace builders from 'hot conflict areas" on how to develop peace building projects – so far in the project there have been visits from peacebuilders in Sri Lanka and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the final stage the participants work with our local partner, Conflict and Change to develop and deliver local peace building projects. Here are a few examples of the types of projects they have been delivering so far.

• Truce 20/20 participants delivered training sessions in conflict resolution to their peers at youth clubs and other training venues and have been involved in facilitating conflict resolution sessions in secondary schools, alongside project staff at Conflict and Change.
• Other young people had run a stall and facilitated a conflict resolution training session to peers at a volunteering event.
• One young person had been chosen to represent the UK in an international conference on leadership and peacebuilding in Cyprus.
• Another two young people volunteered with ‘community conversations’ at Conflict and Change and one young person has been invited to join the Management Committee at Conflict and Change.
• Four young people presented at a police appeal for the Adam Regis murder appeal
• Six young people presented at an international ‘the arc of peace’ event at the Frontline Club
• Five young people were supported in developing a Metropolitan Police DVD on stop and search policies.
• Three young people presented and facilitated for young volunteers as part of the Global Exchange Voluntary Services Overseas project

Recruitment for the Truce 20/20 project is ongoing. If you are a young person in Newham aged 16-21 and would like to talk about joining the programme, please contact hannah@peacedirect.org or on 020 7549 0285.

Keep checking the website for details of how Newham's young peace builders are getting on.