Our Mission:
To cultivate youth leaders and peacebuilders by providing them with the necessary skills to set up their own initiatives.
It started off as a 2 am thought.
The premise was simple: Xuan Huynh wanted to sustain the momentum of youth-led movements through providing accessible leadership training for her peers. And as a strong believer in “casual peacebuilding,” or the integration of peace practices into daily life, she incorporated peacebuilding into LeadPeace’s very core.
In addition to casual peacebuilding, the LeadPeace team is a proponent of experiential learning and mentoring. As a result, the first actualization of our mission statement was through the Open Peacebuilding and Leadership (OPL) Conference. Held December of 2019, participants used leadership skills such as collaboration and public speaking to navigate cultural differences and other topics related to peacebuilding. They also gained insight from inspirational speakers who presented on their experiences as community leaders and peacebuilders. It was our intention to continue bringing annual conferences to our region, but due to COVID-19 we have since moved our services virtually. Our current initiatives are Lead Talks and ArtPEACE, and we are excited to bring them to our greater communities!
Services
EnvisionPeace
EnvisionPeace is our “initiatives branch” that works to empower young people to achieve the peace they envision in their communities through interdisciplinary workshops and events. These events foster a safe space for youth to explore all the unique aspects of peacebuilding and leadership.
SharePeace
SharePeace works to fulfill our mission through social media posts that contain fruitful information, advice, and tips on a wide array of topics: self-development, peace-building, and awareness issues.
How it all began:
The Open Peacebuilding and Leadership (OPL) Conference was held on December 14, 2019, at the James Lee Community Center. It brought together over 50 Northern Virginia students from 14 high schools to participate in a variety of activities aimed at fostering teamwork, communications, and critical and creative thinking. The goal of the OPL Conference was to equip the youth with skills to set up their own initiatives.
Our Team
Follow our journey
Get in touch!
Are you an enthusiastic young mind who is interested in our mission? Do you want to speak for a Lead Talk or know of someone who’d be great? Let us know! Leave us any questions, ideas, or reactions you might have. Our team is looking forward to hearing from you!