"That is what I really I love about Play for Peace: flexibility and tailor-made components so that each club can have their own identity and freedom to use Play for Peace to fit in their own culture." - Play for Peace volunteer Dian Mitrayani
Dian Mitrayani is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with the Urban Education Department, focusing on youth leadership, specifically in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. She had volunteered for a year and half with a Play for Peace Club in Chicago, interacting with student and youth leaders. Dian is now a member of our Inquiry into Impact team of researchers who is developing ways to document the impact of Play for Peace in our Clubs around the world.
Dian shares that volunteering with Play for Peace strengthened her belief in youth as leaders and their capability to conduct peacebuilding. Here, she describes what Play for Peace has meant to her.
“Play for Peace for me is a very flexible mediator or tool or space you can tailor to each group to fit into your own needs in purpose of building peace. That is what I really I love about Play for Peace: flexibility and tailored made components so that each club can have their own identity and freedom to use Play for Peace to fit in their own culture. Peace itself is broad it doesn’t have [to only be about] avoiding war. Peace can be, for example, when you hang out with your friends, a time where you don’t have worry about what happens in your home or neighborhood.”
Although she has moved on to pursue her education, says says “I am still having a great time sharing games learned from Play for Peace in Chicago and playing it with some youth in summer camp. It has been a great experience for me to learn those skills and also experience youth leadership in Play for Peace.”
