Peace Starts With You

19 - 21 September

PeaceJam UK is underway planning its next event - an online weekend of events shaped around The International Day of Peace (Monday 21 September 2026). The theme is, Peace Starts With You! This is an event created, planned, and led by youth, for youth!

Join us on Zoom for an action-packed weekend, empowering young people to make change in their communities and helping them to deal with anxiety around big issues, through workshops, speakers, and mentoring groups. 

The targeted age range is 13-18 years old. There are limited spaces for each event and youth will need to register for each event individually.

Saturday 19, 10:00 - 12:30 pm BST: Family Groups and Panel Session. Register here. 

Small breakout rooms with young changemakers leading discussions on anxiety around big issues and challenging narratives. With a Q & A Panel session with inspirational leaders, Dr Chloe Coxshall and Aba Amoah. 

Sunday 20, 10:00 - 11:00 am BST: Canva Zine Workshop. Register here. 

Hi, I’m Brian, a Year 12 student interested in making a real impact through PeaceJam UK. Zines are a creative way to share your ideas, stories and perspectives. In this workshop, we’ll explore anxiety and the big issues affecting young people, using creativity to turn our thoughts into something we can share and build on together.

Sunday 20, 11:00 - 12:00 pm BST: Democracy Action Workshop. Register here. 

My name is Araoluwa and I’ll be running the Democracy Action Workshop. I’m a sixth form student working as a Democracy Ambassador at IHAVEAVOIVE, so my role is to encourage young people to get involve in democracy and elections! This workshop for the PeaceJam UK 'Peace Starts With You’ online weekend is aimed at ages 13-18 years old. Politics can sometimes seem super boring or confusing. However, voting and participating in politics is where you get to shape the world you live in and choose the people that make decisions on the things that matter to you! This workshop is designed to teach young people about the important of political participation and local democracy, and help them understand how they can create change with politics! 

Monday 21, 6:00 - 7:30 pm BST: Intergenerational Circle. Register here. 

The Intergenerational Circle brings young people and different generations together to share ideas, listen to different perspectives and have meaningful conversations about the big issues affecting our world. This workshop creates a space for young people to have a seat at the table, connect across generations and explore how we can turn conversation into action and real change.

Peace Starts With You Programme

York PeaceJam Slam 2026

We are so excited to announce that PeaceJam will be hosting an event in York this autumn! We will be releasing a date and more information soon. 

Get ready for an action-packed Slam, empowering youth to be the change they want to see in the world through hands-on workshops and near-peer mentoring groups.

To facilitate sustainable change, schools and youth groups will also have access to a six-week programme that complements the Citizenship GCSE curriculum.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks! 

Manchester PeaceJam Slam 2027

We are so excited to announce that PeaceJam will be hosting our third PeaceJam Manchester Slam at Manchester Communication Academy (MCA) on the 20th March 2027.

Get ready for an action-packed Slam, empowering youth to be the change they want to see in the world through hands-on workshops and near-peer mentoring groups.

To facilitate sustainable change, schools and youth groups will also have access to a six-week programme that complements the Citizenship GCSE curriculum.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks! 

FREE Teacher Training

Our Compassion in Action curriculum which is aimed at young people aged 12-18, has been designed to meet Ofsted/ Estyn criteria, from literacy through to personal and social development.

PeaceJam UK is providing Secondary Schools with a FREE copy of PeaceJam’s Compassion in Action Curriculum and online training. The training will take place online over the course of two one-and-a-half-hour sessions and will focus on how to facilitate the programme, manage difficult conversations, and support students in creating a community-enhancing social change project as part of PeaceJam’s One Billion Acts of Peace campaign. 

We currently confirming dates for the next academic year. Email to register your interest now and be the first to know when dates are released: [email protected]

International PeaceJam

PeaceJam is an international organisation with affiliates in many countries.

Young people and their teachers who have participated in the PeaceJam programme can also attend PeaceJam Youth Conferences in other countries.

Students from PeaceJam Romania recently came and took part in PeaceJam in Winchester; while members of the UK Youth Team recently travelled to Mexico to connect with other PeaceJam affiliates and attend conferences there.

Here is an up-to-date list of PeaceJam events around the world.

Why Go To A PeaceJam Conference?

“PeaceJam was a really interesting and inspiring event. I liked everything: meeting a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the people you connect with, and the activities. It was a fun but productive weekend. It inspired and encouraged me to stand for what I believed. It also taught me that staying silent and doing nothing is not the answer. Doing something about an issue might not solve it 100% but at least you can do something that makes it a bit better than it was at first.” 

“At the conference they put you in family groups with people you didn't know but had to work with. I think this made us more willing to interact and participate in activities. I love Adolfo Pérez Esquivel. I went because I was curious about the jam and I got offered the opportunity.”

“Incredible - I want to go again.”

“It has taught me that we need to get everybody together to work together to make things better in our community. Everybody needs to support each other – like the fingers of a hand working together like the dude said. Parents really need to support their children to make things better.”  

“I had a fantastic time and I really liked the conference. I liked the workshops and I thought Adolfo was a really good man.”

“It was brilliant – I was really inspired by Adolfo’s speech and how he managed to influence the people without violence. I really want to go again.”

“PeaceJam rocks!”

“Don't stop the conferences. They are amazing!!!”

“Fab weekend, thank you!”

“It was a fantastic experience!”

“It was good. I had a really good time. I made new friends. I told my school about it. I want them to come next year.”