Adventures in Peacemaking: A Conflict Resolution Guide for School-Age Programs

William J. Kreidler and Lisa Furlong. Educators for Social Responsibility, 1996.

Designed to meet the unique needs of afterschool programs, camps, and recreation centers, this guide contains hundreds of hands-on, engaging activities that teach basic conflict resolution skills through cooperative challenges, drama, crafts, music and even cooking. Also included are easy-to-implement strategies and tips for providers to both reduce conflict in their programs and to intervene effectively when conflict does occur. Adventures in Peacemaking blends ESR's innovative conflict resolution curricula with Project Adventure's activity-based programming.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Albany Park Theater Project

The Albany Park Theater Project utilizes the medium of theater to help teenagers recognize and achieve their potential, with an emphasis on nurturing their educational ambitions and sense of civic responsibility.

Resource Link: http://aptpchicago.org

Arsalyn

A program of the Ludwick Family Foundation, Arsalyn promotes constructive dialogue between groups with diverse viewpoints as well as the sharing of models and methods. Arsalyn has been convening a series of regional conferences geared toward helping young people--especially politically active youth--develop skills that will help them communicate effectively with those of opposing views or with more lukewarm potential allies without alienating them or poisoning the wells of deliberation and common action. The aim of these conferences: to explore of the art of political deliberation and to apply this art in 'bridging the partisan divide.'

Resource Link: http://www.arsalyn.org

At The Table

Connect with others, share information, and help build the worldwide movement for youth participation at this online clearinghouse featuring everything you need to know about effectively involving youth in your organization and community. Hosted by the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development.

Resource Link: http://www.AtTheTable.org

Building Cultural Bridges

Joby S. Robinson, Robert P. Bowman, Tod Ewing, Janice Hannah and Ana Lopez-De Fede. National Educational Service, 1997.

The publication of Building Cultural Bridges is an exciting move toward building a set of tools to better raise our children. It provides a repertoire of methods and approaches for teachers, families, community workers, and others to teach children the rich value and potential of diversity. Includes more than 50 interactive, hands-on lessons form the core of this research-based resource for addressing diversity. One great activity is on page 112 of the Leader's Guide ("Put Your Fears in Arrears"). In this wonderful resource, the emphasis is on action - taking a stand against prejudice and building bridges across cultures and communities.

City Voices, Children's Needs

The National League of Cities.

Describes widespread concerns about the quality of schools, violence by and among young people, and inadequate opportunities for youth to become engaged in constructive activities during non-school hours.

Resource Link: http://www.nlc.org

Diversity in Action

Sharon Chappelle and Lisa Bigman, with Francesca Hillyer. Project Adventure, 1999.

Provides over 100 adventure activities adapted toward issues of diversity - ranging from gender to race to class - as well as facilitation tips. Organized into thirteen diversity topics, this book will help you develop a safe atmosphere where all youth feel respected, valued, and listened to.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Early Childhood Adventures in Peacemaking, 2nd Edition

William J. Kreidler and Sandy Tsubokawa Whittall. Educators for Social Responsibility.

Recently revised, this unique guide uses games, music, art, drama, and storytelling to teach young children effective, nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. It also provides caregivers with tools for helping young children develop key conflict resolution skills. This new edition contains sections on developmentally appropriate practice; tips on classroom set-up; instructions for incorporating social and emotional skills into daily routines; suggestions for when things don't go as planned; and materials and activities for parents to help reinforce the themes, skills, and concepts of a Peaceable Program at home.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Global Kids

The mission of Global Kids is to prepare urban youth to become global citizens and community leaders. Global Kids works to ensure that young people of diverse backgrounds have the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed in the workplace and participate in the shaping of public policy and international relations. Global Kids conducts online and face-to-face dialogues for high-school students.

Resource Link: http://www.globalkids.org

Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Blog

American Library Association members Nancy Kranich, Taylor Willingham, and Michele Reid established an ALA Membership Initiative Group for librarians interested in Fostering Civic Engagement. This group, formed in 2004, includes librarians from all types of libraries who are eager to learn about and share their experiences with facilitating deliberative public forums and fostering civic engagement in their communities.

Resource Link: http://nancykranich.ottergroup.com/blog

Michigan Youth Caucus

The Michigan Youth Caucus (MYC) is sponsored by the Michigan Civics Institute, the Interactive Communication and Simulations Group at the University of Michigan, and members of the state legislature. MYC gives Michigan residents 18-22 a voice in public affairs through the use of online tools, offline meetings and conventions to facilitate the creation of the Michigan Youth Caucus (MYC) platform.

Resource Link: http://ics.soe.umich.edu/newics/myc.lasso

Playing With Fire: Creative Conflict Resolution for Young Adults

Fiona MacBeth and Nic Fine (Contributor). New Society Publishers, 1995.

Playing with Fire presents a complete training program for helping teenagers and young adults deal creatively with interpersonal conflict and violence. It explores the dynamics of anger, hurt, conflict, communication, cooperation, and assertiveness; teaches listening, mediation, and conflict-defusing skills; and discusses when advocacy is more appropriate than mediation. Teachers, youth workers, and others involved with teens will find this as important as will the teen readers themselves.

Police and Kids of Color: Building Community Bridges Through Theater

Race Talks.

Race Talk's video documentary titled "RACETALK: Collaboration Through Conversation" (1996), chronicles how a law school seminar builds trust, deals with controversy, fosters constructive conflict, and transforms participants into effective problem solvers. The video "Police and Kids of Color: Building Community Bridges Through Theater" explores these ideas in the context of a police academy.

Resource Link: http://www.racetalks.org/about/index.html

Teaching Tolerance: Raising Open-Minded, Empathetic Children

Sara Bullard. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1996.

Teaching Tolerance is an invitation for parents and teachers to examine their own habits and attitudes toward the community around them. Sara Bullard believes that once a parent is aware of the attitudes they were raised with, it is easier for them to teach their children true tolerance toward others. The first chapters of Teaching Tolerance focus on the humanness of intolerance--no one is truly exempt from the habit of judging others. The fourth chapter outlines the work required to alter intolerant instincts.

Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM)

Victim Offender Mediation is a face-to-face meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. The practice is also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue. In some practices, the victim and the offender are joined by family and community members or others.

Voices of Diversity Dialogue Guide

National Youth Employment Coalition, 2002.

A guide to assist schools and program staff in facilitating dialogues on institutional racism with young people.

Resource Link: http://nyec.org/voicesofdiversity