Contributor : Lauren Rubino

As part of our most recent Global Games for Interfaith Harmony Week, this week we hosted an exchange between the HOLA club in Los Angeles, California, and the Cantel Club in Guatemala. Our clubs' shared their visions and the work they are doing, and had a blast in the process!

This month we hosted our first-ever Playshop Connect—with much success! Not only did the group—an organization based in the Chicago area—learn about Play for Peace, but they also took part in a series of fun, interactive challenges and activities that created connection and community among team members.

We are lucky to work with trainers around the world who are dedicated to creating peace. A perfect example of this is Nikhil Mehta, our trainer in Mumbai, India, who recently hosted a Play for Peace session in the Aarey Colony, which has been in the news due to serious conflict.

Just last month, the Play for Peace Global Games took place, offering our clubs a unique way to work together to serve our community and the planet, create peace, and celebrate our year. Here's what happened.

We would like to welcome Dr. Karen McKinney to the Play for Peace Board of Directors! We are thrilled she is joining our global community and excited to share a few details about her extraordinary accomplishments, as well as her new role at Play for Peace.

We are always excited when Play for Peace spreads to new communities and new countries where people can greatly benefit from our peace building efforts. Just this past weekend, we hosted a training in El Salvador that was so successful that we are starting the country's first club.

When it comes to partnering, universities are a natural fit for Play for Peace. For this reason, we recently conducted a two-day youth leadership training at SNDT Women’s University in Pune, India, to teach students there about the cooperative play experience and experiential education. 

We are very excited about two new Play for Peace clubs that recently started in Vietnam, the Danang Club and the Quy Nhon club! After forming this past summer, both clubs are working on educational initiatives that will benefit children in their region, and need your help.

On Saturday, September 21, we celebrated World Peace Day with the seventh annual Play for Peace Fall 5K Run/Walk. Despite the rainy forecast, the successful evening drew 300 attendees and raised more than $41,000 to support our peace building efforts around the world.  

Tomorrow, September 21, is World Peace Day. In honor of this important global celebration, we are excited about the many wonderful efforts happening in the Play for Peace global community—from our clubs’ World Peace Day activities to our annual Fall 5K event. 

It is thanks to the passion and dedication of our community members that Play for Peace continues to spread to new areas around the world. This is especially true of our regional coordinator, Rita Nguyen, who dedicated her summer vacation to creating laughter, compassion, and peace in new communities in Vietnam.

We are excited to be hosting the seventh annual Play for Peace 5K Run/Walk on World Peace Day this year! Learn more about the event and register now!

We’re excited to announce that we're embarking on a new technological venture—a mobile app! Called Play for Peace 2.0, this effort will help our community to better facilitate training sessions and serve as a database for Play for Peace activities and a hub for data collection. Learn more!