History books focus on wars and conflicts but give little space to peace, writes Mridul Upadhyay, 24, a Commonwealth Correspondent from New Delhi, who notes that peace is valued but is poorly defined and difficult to achieve. Our history books are filled with dates related to wars, raids, massacre and change in dynasties. In history, peace has a small …

“Consensus around the idea of peace” Read More »

“In the lead-up to the 2016 International Day of Peace (IDP) on 21 September, the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN) will share success stories of young people in peacebuilding action. CYPAN is encouraging young people to take action on IDP and has issued a guide encouraging youth participation in the campaign. The first story is the Indo-Pak Peace …

Guftagu: An Indo-Pak Peace Project Read More »

Classical heritage plays a vital role in development of individuals, writes Mridul Upadhyay, 25, a Commonwealth Correspondent from New Delhi, who argues in favour of investing time to learn about culture that has been built up over many generations. A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle …

“Inner peace comes through classical heritage” Read More »

By Christine Odera, CYPAN member The Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN) is poised to strengthen and optimise grassroots, national, regional and pan-Commonwealth youth participation in promoting sustainable peace and countering violent extremism. The CYPAN Kenya network in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) Kenya, joined hands in coordinating a side event at the …

CYPAN co-hosts Youth Blast on Peace-building Read More »

All seven aspirants for President have pledged to ensure peaceful polls in Ghana’s election on December 7. Commonwealth Correspondent Michael Gyekye, 23, of Ghana, was there as Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Josephine Ojiambo and the Chair of the Commonwealth Election Observation Mission to Ghana attended a special peace declaration ceremony in Accra. Ahead of Ghana’s Presidential …

“Political leaders pledge peaceful election” Read More »

By Terez Lord, CYPAN Country Coordinator for Trinidad and Tobago The Trinidad and Tobago arm of Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN) has been planning, coordinating and executing a plethora of initiatives in keeping with its mandate to upscale and optimise grass-root, national, regional and Pan-Commonwealth efforts at promoting peace. The most recent activity was a …

CYPAN Trinidad organises video shoot for peace Read More »

Reflecting on why many are quick to exclude those who are not like them, Nnadozie Onyekuru, 28, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Nigeria now studying in the USA, finds it is easy to dismiss such people as hidebound, but a patient apprehension yields other answers. All over the world, there are people who hesitate to include others in their …

“Seeking truth leads to social inclusion” Read More »

By Terez Lord, CYPAN Country Coordinator (Trinidad and Tobago) The recent escalation in crime, coupled with a spirit of paranoia has led to the mass proliferation of civic-minded citizens overtly demonstrating their disgruntlement in Trinidad and Tobago. Friday 13 January 2017 was a black one, for more reasons than one. The streets of the capital city …

“Together We Take a Stand, Not a Seat” Read More »

War and peace has been a focal issue in all periods of history, writes Abhay Shah, 17, a Correspondent from Siliguri in India. Lessons have been learned, but he argues that humankind must learn how to manage ongoing and new crises that threaten peace. The concern of humankind for peace can be assessed by taking …

“Peace and the essence of peace today” Read More »