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Peace Jam - September 15-17, 2006

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is PeaceJam?
A: PeaceJam, based in Arvada, Colo., is a year-long educational program built around Nobel Peace Laureates who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody. The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform their local communities, themselves, and the world.
Q: What was the difference between PeaceJam’s May events and the September events here at DU?
A: On September 15-17, PeaceJam will celebrate its 10th anniversary with 3,000 high school students here at the DU Campus. PeaceJam stages the conference to encourage students to work for social change in their schools and communities. On May 16-17, PeaceJam host a conference on the DU campus that will bring together about 300 high school students with Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi or Iran.
Q: What has been PeaceJam’s impact?
A: Since PeaceJam was launched in 1996, more than 200,000 teenagers worldwide have participated in the program, and 105 PeaceJam Conferences have been held worldwide, creating more than 250,000 community action projects. Additional PeaceJam youth conferences are scheduled in the United States and around the world.
Q: Who are the Nobel Laureates that attended PeaceJam?
A: Laureates who will be attending PeaceJam include the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Jose Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Oscar Arias, Jody Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire.
Q. Who started PeaceJam?
A: Ivan Suvanjieff is a musician, journalist and artist. He began his career as a rock musician in Detroit, Michigan, and soon became an Associate Editor and rock critic at CREEM magazine. In 1985, he moved to Denver, where he worked at the Rocky Mountain News and founded a literary magazine, “The New Censorship.” Suvanjieff was living in north Denver during what became known as “the summer of violence” in that city. Amongst the gang-related shootings and killings, he developed the concept of using leading Nobel Peace Laureates to reach out to young people.

Dawn Gifford Engle has a background in public service and non-profit management. She worked for the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. for twelve years, first as a research assistant to U.S. Senator Robert Griffin, and then as Legislative Assistant to Congressman Jack Kemp and as Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Robert Kasten. In 1986, she was promoted to be Kasten’s Chief of Staff, becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in that position for a U.S. Senator. She also served as an assistant director of the Republican Platform Committee. In 1994, she founded the Colorado Friends of Tibet, a statewide nonprofit organization. In 1994, Dawn Gifford Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff began to develop the PeaceJam program, which was launched in March of 1996. Suvanjieff and Engle became husband and wife in March of 2000, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu presiding over the ceremony. Currently, Suvanjieff serves as PeaceJam’s President, and Engle as the foundation’s Executive Director.
Q: Who sponsored PeaceJam?
A: The Gill Foundation, the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado, Rose Medical Center, Hogan and Hartson LLP, the Fetzer Institute, Sage Hospitality Resources, Sodexho Food Service and individual Colorado citizens.