12/02/2025
On Friday, November 21, the 23 students of Jennie Barron's introductory Peace & Conflict Studies class (PACS 100) presented a Peace Fair in the Pit on the theme of How People Make Peace. Students created exhibits, and then interacted with visitors, answering questions, telling stories, and explaining concepts relating their topics to their learning in the course.
Exhibits explored human rights, peacebuilders in Israel-Palestine, secret schools for women in Afghanistan, unsung heroines of the U.S. Civil Rights movement (Ella Baker and Mamie Till), countries that choose peace (e.g., New Zealand, Costa Rica, Kosovo), pacifist religious groups (the Doukhobors and Quakers), campaigns against violence (e.g., the Moosehide Campaign, and the International Campaign for the Prohibition of Nuclear War); organizations (the United Network of Young Peacebuilders, and the Red Cross); interventions to address Indigenous homelessness, based on the Medicine Wheel; Children's International Summer Villages - a program designed to build intercultural understanding among children; how peace is measured for the Global Peace Index, and laughtivism - how humour is used in movements of nonviolent civil resistance.
The students were very creative in coming up with ways to engage visitors, from quizzes and videos to Minecraft, games, and giveaways of everything from bookmarks to clown noses to delicious borscht! We were delighted to host students from Glenmerry Elementary School in Trail and many other community members, students and staff of Selkirk College. Thanks to all our volunteers for helping to make our first Peace Fair such a smashing success!
Selkirk College
