It may sound silly to many of you, but I believe that peace can start with something as simple as a picture book. Do you remember the post Picture Books for Peace? I recommended some very powerful pieces of children's literature.
When you combine stunning photographs of children from around the world with thought-provoking words written by people of all ages, races, and backgrounds, what do you get?
World change.
That's what Richard and Michele Steckel had in mind when they researched and photographed The Milestones Project: Celebrating Childhood Around the World. It's "the only project of its kind determined to heal the world’s divisions by sharing the undeniable pictures of our common humanity."
This is the vision of the Milestones Project (501c3):
"Our immediate goal is to reduce prejudice, intolerance and hatred in the next few years. We’ll do this by prompting 200,000,000 people globally to reflect on, talk about and take personal action. Our long-term objective is to safeguard our planet from hatred and war and create a culture of peace."
These are some pretty ambitious goals, aren't they? Well, this pair has been pretty busy since they first started this project more than ten years ago. They've not only collected over 50,000 photographs, but they've documented "words of wisdom" from children and adults from all over the world. Some of them you know, and some you don't. It doesn't matter, though. Every voice counts here.
This next initiative of the Milestones Project is called Wise at Heart. Now you have a chance to contribute to this revolutionary project as well! All you have to do is answer these two questions:
1. What is the most cherished wisdom you received as a child?
2. What is the most valuable wisdom you can pass on to a young person or child today?
Parents and teachers can have children contribute as well. Since there are so many questions for children to choose from (too many to list here), you can leave a comment and I will email you the list.
If you or your child do decide to contribute, that's great. You can submit your answers directly to the web site by September 1, 2009. Please let us know that you did so!
Oh, and by the way, volunteer photographers are needed too! Find out more here.
There's also a great article about the Steckels (and a slideshow) at Bostonia, as well as a wonderful video about them here.
So, what do you think? Can children's books inspire peace and world change? Richard and Michele Steckel are taking it one child at a time and one photograph at a time.
