Howaida

International Peace and CAC Peace Initiative
Our collaborative project with the third grade class on the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of WWII, was an incredible experience and created a link between different age groups within our community. This project encouraged the International Relations students to take an active role on understanding and developing peace both internationally and within our school.

At the international level, it allowed us to investigate the dropping of the 'Little Boy' and the horrible atrocities that followed. Furthermore, it added to our understanding of international politics by reading more about the countries that have nuclear programs and how certain countries are trying to prevent others from getting them through means of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and enforcing arms control. Another interesting fact that was mentioned was that the international symbol for peace (see image below) was derived from the nuclear sign, which to me seemed very relevant and logical seeing as it was created during the cold war.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of this project was building the relationship and the understanding between us and the third graders. Originally, I thought it would be difficult to establish common ground between us, yet my initial thoughts proved to be very wrong. Not only were they very open about their ideas but also about what they wanted to achieve. An example would be when we created the paper cranes, to them they were trying to understand what Sadako had tried to do while in the hospital, yet they also were very aware of the symbolism behind these cranes. Furthermore, it created a very small, but still existent bond between us. Earlier today I saw my partner outside on the playground and he came and said hi to me. Even a simple greeting can make all the difference in the atmosphere of the school and in the world.

"Mil Terms: - N: November." Nov 2007. Combat. 23 Sep 2007 <[|http://www.combat.ws/S4/MILTERMS/IMAGES/PEACE.JPG>.]