Separated by 4,158 miles of salt water and landmasses, Brooklyn, New York and Florence, Italy are both building communities active in bringing justice and understanding to all. According to The Peace Alliance, violence causes more than 1.6 million deaths annually worldwide but the world spends just $1 on conflict prevention for every $1,885 spent on the military. If you were to look at hate crimes in America, more than 7,000 are experienced annually, more than two-thirds of which are the result of racial or religious bias. If we zoom out our lens we would note that fascism is rising all over Europe, leading to societal perceptions and interactions based on prejudice.
As we look towards what we want for our future, we know that much is possible with our youngest generation, hence why Aima Raza has established the Peace and Human Rights Education Pilot. Through this project she is bringing peace and human rights education to the classroom in both the United States and Pakistan. Given this is the space where youth spend a majority of their waking hours, she believes that the world can be remade by teaching our youngest youth respect before they learn to fear “the other”. As these youth age and engage in day-to-day experiences, Thomas Gasser is forming social bodies of the general intellect to find a new form and thus impact the larger society through his project, The Uprising.
Transcending age, gender and political orientation, a strong foundation allows for action given the needs of our time and space. “Only the realization of ‘We’ acknowledges that we are all affected by global crisis can lead to a shared effort for a sustainable change. Without experience and believe in the sublime and good parts of the human being, a big part of society will not engage in a much needed movement and effort to prepare the future.”
While Aima and Thomas comprise a part of The Pollination Project global network, we also want to share the groundbreaking work of the following twelve individuals who have received a seed grant: Veronicah Mughogho: Good Sanitation for Proper Education, Jill Anderson: Otros Dreams en Acción Community Space in Mexico City, Blair Butterfield: Sunrise Community Garden to Market, Caroline Gichuhi: Classroom Construction, Katrina Sanford: Healing Revolution, André Ryuji Zampronio: Neighbourhood Music, Freeman Word: The Zakatu Madrasa, Brandi Moore: Broken Iron Fitness, Edgar Chiukepo Phiri: School Girls Menstrual Hygiene Management Project, Modestly Cover Diaper Bank of Essex County, Lidiya Ivanova Svetoslavova: Perches For Predatory Birds in Farmlands Near a Protected Area Instead of the Use of Poison and Theodore Hardy: Youth Rugby Outreach.
The world is changing… Demographically, geographically and politically. To know that people across all seven continents are committed to fighting the fight and working together for a bright future makes us hopeful. If you are someone wanting to join the movement and stand up with us, we accept applications every day of the year.