Hands in peace
About
Hands in Peace builds peace among diverse communities. The Hands in Peace Festivals adapt the ancient Greek Olympics for children and celebrate our common humanity and cultural diversity through non-competitive festivals. The festivals combine cooperative artwork and athletic events that emphasize grace and beauty and foster self-esteem. The Hands in Peace festivals create a safe space for transformative conflict resolution for children and their communities.
The Hands in Peace festivals reflect the values and hopes of the ancient Olympic truce. Hands in Peace utilizes a modern model of the ancient Pentathlon (running, jumping, wrestling, discus, and javelin) and PACT(R) educational materials (Pentathlon, Arts, Communication, and Truce) for training teachers, coaches, and judges, both developed for children by Spacial Dynamics Institute. The Hands in Peace festival is more than an athletic or educational event, it is a peacebuilding experience.
Our efforts center on the understanding that children who play together and learn to honor each other in their youth will continue into adulthood to work together for the good.
Offerings
Workshops
PACT Model Training
Contact THE SPACIAL DYNAMICS INSTITUTE FOR INFORMATION ON CERTIFIED TRAINERS AND UPCOMING TRAININGS.
In the early 1980s, Thom Schaefer and Jaimen McMillan co-developed PACT, a pentathlon model for 5th-grade school children, that has been incorporated into the Waldorf, public, and private school curricula. Thom and Jaimen have teamed up, together with Spacial Dynamics instructors from around the world, and have applied this model in international peace projects in Greece, the Middle East, Ecuador, China, and the US. This PACT model (Pentathlon, Arts, Communication, and Truce) uses movement, art, and non-violent communication to go beyond flags, break down stereotypes, and build up connections based upon movements that are true.