Anna Whitely, a rising junior at Summit High School, wants children to know how important peace is for the world.
Last year, she founded the Children’s Peace Festival and is organizing this year’s event with the theme “Peace Begins With Me.” The idea behind the theme? If peace is fostered individually, it can expand locally and globally.
“I was inspired to create this festival because I saw unrest and violence within the world, in global issues such as poverty and inequality, but mainly the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East. I wanted to create a festival that would show children that peace begins with them – that they can create peaceful change within their own community that can eventually lead to global change,” says Anna. “I also wanted the festival to be a space for both kids and parents to take a step back and be reminded of the importance of peace within their lives.”
The 16-year-old will try to achieve this through fun activities. There will be art projects, cooperative games, peace-building activities, music, meditation and introspective forest walks.
Kids can create a flower from upcycled materials, which will be displayed throughout the event. The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will host a project where everyone gets some clay to shape into a tree, showing how peace can grow. The final product will be on display at VACNJ. The community will work on creating a Children’s Peace Garden.
Youth performers come from the Papermill Playhouse, Elefante Music & School for the Performing Arts and Kent Place School.
The Empanada Lady will have a food truck on site.
Anna has also done cross country, fencing and shotput for track. She has been part of the Yale Young Global Scholars program tasked with solving global challenges, and also took Oxford summer courses in law. In school, she is a member of Girls for STEM and the French Club. She is an active member of the choir and has plans to develop her own NGO and club at school dedicated to educational access.
The Children’s Peace Festival will be held from 2-5 pm Saturday, November 2, at the Chatham Summit Quaker meeting house, 158 Southern Blvd., Chatham. Admission and activities are free. Overflow parking will be available at Southern Boulevard School. In the event of rain, events will be moved inside.
New Jersey Family and Visual Arts Center of New Jersey are partners in the event. The event is non-religious and non-political. To volunteer or become a sponsor of the festival, email childrenspeacefestival@gmail.com. The schedule of events will be posted at chathamquakers.org.
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