Event Ideas

This is a list of programs, events and actions organized by topic that you might draw inspiration from! Check out the Chapter Organizing Manual and Advocacy Manual for more information on events, programming, recruitment and lobbying!

Remember, you'll need to account for all the materials and resources necessary for each of these programs. Contact us if you need support or suggestions for materials that might be necessary.

Film Screenings

Prison/ Restorative Justice/ Conflict Resolution Films (you may have to search for full films):

- Prison State—PBS FRONTLINE film—explores “Americas fixation on incarceration”.
- Fixing Juvie Justice—PBS film—explores alternatives to current juvenile justice system
- Kids For Cash--documentary—explores both sides of the juvenile justice scandal from 2008, known as “kids For cash”, where a judge in Pennsylvania was accused of receiving millions of dollars for sending kids to Juvenile Detention.
- Coldwater--film—follows a boy who has been sent to a juvenile reform camp where the kids are mentally and physically abused (violence trigger warning).
- As We Forgive--documentary—“Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal—two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.”
- Concrete, Steel, and Paint—documentary—“When men in a Pennsylvania state prison join with victims of crime to create a mural about healing, their views on punishment, remorse, and forgiveness collide. Finding consensus is not easy – but as the participants move through the creative process, mistrust gives way to surprising moments of human contact and common purpose.”
- Journey to Forgiveness--documentary—features stories of anger and forgiveness in the face of death. Stories include family survivors of violent or wrongful death; near-death from racial injustice; terminal illness, and reconciliation for crimes against ancestors.
- Breaking Bows and Arrows—documentary—offers a gripping and powerful picture of the traditional processes that helped build peace in Bougainville after the civil war.
- Beyond Conviction—documentary— "tells the moving story of three crime victims on a journey toward healing and resolution. The film follows participants in a pioneering program run by the state of Pennsylvania in which victims of the most violent crimes meet face-to-face with their perpetrators."
- A Force More Powerful-documentary- "Reviewing a century often called the most violent in history, this series is the story of millions who chose to battle the forces of brutality with nonviolent weapons-and won."
- Bringing Down a Dictator-documetary-"Documents the spectacular defeat of Slobodan Milosevic in October, 2000, not by force of arms, as many had predicted, but by an ingenious nonviolent strategy of honest elections and massive civil disobedience."
- The Square-documentary- "As the Egyptian Revolution unfolds, this 2014 Academy Award® nominee for Best Documentary Feature immerses the viewer in the intense emotional drama of young people on the streets of Cairo claiming their rights and creating a society of conscience. As two governments topple, the personal stories of the freedom fighters unfold in an inspiring tribute to the power of citizenship."
Peace and Justice Films:
- The End of Poverty?: "The End of Poverty? is a daring, thought-provoking and very timely documentary by award-winning filmmaker, Philippe Diaz, revealing that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. The End of Poverty? asks why today 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate."
- Inequality For All: "A documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap."
- Dirty Wars: "A 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature, this film explores America's controversial covert operations around the globe."
- Park Avenue: Money, Power, and the American Dream "The widening gap between rich and poor is nowhere clearer than on New York's Park Avenue, home to America's highest concentration of billionaires."
- Orange Revolution Post 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine. "Through the eyes and in the voices of the Ukrainian people, Orange Revolution tells the story of a people united...by one idea to defend their vote and the future of their country."
- A Force More Powerful "Reviewing a century often called the most violent in history, this series is the story of millions who chose to battle the forces of brutality with nonviolent weapons-and won."
- Civil Resistance: A First Look "Civil resistance movements and campaigns are far more successful than is often assumed."
- Five Broken Cameras "Palestinian Emad Burnet, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, shot the film and Israeli filmmaker Guy Davidi co-directed. The Filmmakers follow one family's evolution over five years, witnessing a child's growth from a newborn baby into a young boy who observes the world unfolding around him."

Hip-hop artist Common performs at a Student Peace Alliance National Conference

Creating Campus Community

Thread tying: Ask your peers to tie thread with a peace bead around their wrist. Remind them that each thread was cut from one long string, just as each student is part of one larger campus community- we are all connected. Give them a flyer with information about your next meeting and have them sign their names and contact info to a list.
Restorative forums: Host town halls, forums and community meetings to address violence, conflict on campus in a restorative way- looking at the needs that haven’t been met, coming up with a way to move forward that involves the whole community. Visit the US Institute of Peace's website to learn about some tools like conflict analysis, active listening, negotiation and mediation! If you're interested in holding a forum like this, we are glad to provide you with some light training in restorative processes.
Asanga (community learning): A peace club at University of Maine started the practice they called "Asanga," where every week they met to share inspiring literature or poetry. Start with a short meditation to center yourselves, do some readings, have a discussion, then have another closing meditation. This can be integrated into your chapter meetings, or it can be an additional event that your chapter does every week or every month. You can invite members of your campus community to come together to participate in this practice, or have an open and welcoming learning circle in the middle of a public space to bring your campus community together.
Peace Picnic: Have a school-wide picnic where you provide snacks, maybe a grill-out or have a drum circle- an opportunity for members of the campus community to connect with one another and spend time together outdoors. Have people write post-cards to their Member of Congress supporting the Youth PROMISE Act. Give them a sample letter to follow with addresses of Congressional offices, and envelopes with stamps. Have the sustainability groups on campus provide info about the organic snacks they’re eating, and what it means to support local farmers, community nourishment programs, etc. Food and proper nourishment is a vital part of sustainable peace. Remember, peace starts from the ground up.

SPA founder and former coordinator Aaron lobbying on the Hill!

Lobbying and Advocacy Events

Call-in campaigns: Everyone in the chapter offers 30 minutes of time on their cell phones to make calls to their Members of Congress. Create a script asking your Rep or Senator to co-sponsor the Youth PROMISE Act. You could also have students use their own phones. Give them a prize afterwards- candy and a thread to remind them they did something important today to help build community! Scripts are available in the Advocacy section of the website.
Letter writing campaigns: Set up in a very busy area on campus and have materials and supplies to send letters to your Congresspeople. You should have a sample letter (look in the Advocacy Manual for some sample letters you can draw from) so that people who are unfamiliar have the basic talking points to write down in the letter ( the bill is cost saving, funds locally controlled and determined programs, and is accountable).
Petitioning: You can petition on campus for Youth PROMISE Act or Dept. of Peacebuilding either by using our online petitions or creating a printable petition that you would then mail in to the Congressional offices you are targeting. Make sure it has information such as name and zip-code for the petition, and always have a sign up sheet to ask for their email and phone numbers as well. You don't need to send email and phone in the petition, but you need to keep it for recruitment purposes, and send it in to headquarters. We will add emails in to our SPA list-serve to keep students up to date, which can help you with recruiting as well.

Students advocate for Department of Peacebuilding on campus!

Attention Grabbers

Mock Marriage: This event would be a great opportunity to generate attention on campus. Set up a podium with someone who will officiate the “weddings.” Everyone has to wear white and students take vows to love and support Peace and Justice. They commit to upholding the mission of peacebuilding advocacy- creating a more just world, advocating for violence prevention, prison reduction, feminism, for social and community justice. You can have speeches already written- or let people create their own vows, have different options for them, their vows can be whatever they want them to be. Have sign-up sheets and use it as an opportunity to recruit new students who might be interested. Give participants an action they can take right then and there- write a letter, sign a petition, get involved with SPA.

Board or Chapter Bonding

Have a grounding meditation before you start meetings- set expectations, thank everyone, connect deeply with your board and chapter by honoring each person for their contributions.
Taco Tuesday! Have a meeting at someone's apartment and make tacos. Or just make tacos, don't focus on trying to get anything done and enjoy hanging out with each other. Social time is important!
Laser Tag! Do something fun and physical with your chapter or your board!
Retreats are a great way to connect. Even if it's just overnight camping in someone's backyard or taking the night to stargaze together.
Group strength building exercises are a fun way to learn more about each other (two truths and a lie, reaching across the circle to hold hands and then having to untangle etc.- there are tons of these online!)
Potluck events: Invite your whole chapter or just the board or make this a recruitment event. Potlucks are not only a great social event, but they set the mood for a discussions about food justice, how it relates to peacebuilding, community justice, sustainability, social justice etc. You can have a food drive and require that in addition to bringing a dish, everyone must bring 1 can of non-perishable food to be donated to a local shelter.

Students with former SPA coordinators Aaron and Julia (far left)

Recruitment

PIZZA PARTY! The best way to get people's attention is to offer them free food. Have a call-out meeting at least twice each semester (one at the beginning and one after midterms). At this meeting you should have fun ice-breakers, a fun presentation, and you should always be sure to engage people by giving them opportunities to speak about why they showed up, what their interests are, and find ways that your chapter would cater to their desires.
Outdoor tabling is a great way to recruit. Have materials that students can walk away with so they know who you are, what you do, and when/where your next event or meeting is. Music, candy and colorful signage always helps! Ask people questions. Such as "what does peace mean to you?" or have some type of simple activity that draws people in. You could have a large piece of paper or white board and ask people to write down one word that they think describes the current state of the world, and another word that describes the world as they wish it could be. Tell them that your chapter is working toward creating that world, and you'd love for them to join. ALWAYS HAVE SIGN-UP SHEETS TO GET PEOPLE'S CONTACT INFO!
Campus Organization Recruitment Fairs/Showcases are an important part of recruiting. Most schools have these types of fairs so that freshmen and transfer students as well as many other students can see what's going on in their campus community. Always have sign up sheets and materials with information about your next meeting, or events that you plan to do over the semester.
Bring a friend day. You should have at least 2 recruitment meetings per semester, as mentioned above, and one way you can ensure that there will be more people there is to require each chapter member to bring at least one friend or peer with them to a meeting. Give an overview of what you've done during the semester and what your future event plans are, and always engage the friends by asking what their interests are and finding ways to relate what SPA does to their interests.
Extra credit opportunities: ask you faculty sponsor or a few professors you're close with to offer extra credit for students who participate in Student Peace Alliance. This may be more viable with conflict resolution/peacebuilding/civic engagement/peace and justice studies professors.
Dorm storming: post flyers in the lobbies of every dorm on campus, and if you can get access to different floors of dorms, post flyers up on doors and in hallways and on every cork board you can find. Make it a chapter event! People can pair up and you can make a contest of it.
Announce upcoming meetings in classrooms and at other campus events.
Tips: Call or e-mail visitors after they have attended a meeting. Thank them for visiting the chapter and invite them to your next event. ALL OF YOUR EVENTS should have a recruitment component in that you should always have sign-up sheets for new participants, and you should ALWAYS be trying to create opportunities for new students to join. Advertise your event in different buildings or departments, in dorms and in the library.

Using the Arts

Art-a-thon: Get a large piece of paper or canvas with crayons, paint, markers, and other art supplies. Put it out on a grassy area or a table outside and ask everyone who walks by to contribute to a mural- keep a prompt open- how do you view the world? What is an ideal future for the world as you see it?
Music Festival for Peace: Have local bands, or larger bands do a concert for peace- raising awareness for legislation that could make peacebuilding tools more available, raising awareness of the steps students on campus are taking to advocate for peace- from those trying to change campus policy to those advocating for environmental or peacebuilding policy.
Creative Conflict Transformation: Highlighting artists, filmmakers, individuals and activists who use art and creativity as a means for resolving conflict. Show the film “Acting Together on the World Stage.” Invite artists and speakers who have explored the use of art and creativity to address and resolve conflict. Brandeis has done this event on a large scale and it was very effective.
Slam Poetry Open-Mic night: Focus on peace, justice, humanism, feminism, sustainability, anything really. Ask a local café to donate space, use a community organizing space, or just reserve space on campus.
Tie-Dye! You can tie-dye your SPA t-shirts, or have a day of creating t-shirts (by using sharpie on white Ts) and then dying them together! This is a fun way to incorporate arts and crafts into an event. You can also donate the shirts afterwards!

An SPA chapter tie-dyes t-shirts at an event on campus!

Promoting Inner Peace

Yoga Classes: Offer free yoga classes in a grassy area! Meditation and listening to personal needs as well as caring for your body can lead to a deeper commitment to and understanding of the needs of others. When we focus on the needs of others, we engage in practices of kindness, centeredness, listening and relationship building. You may choose to involve some kind of “entrance fee” like writing a letter to your Member of Congress about YPA. Advertise in the gym!
Inner Peace Yard Sale: Get rid of things that clutter your space. Inner peace can start with the space you live in, if you have things that take up space in your home, in your life, that someone else could benefit from, ask people to donate their things to your club so that you can sell them and put proceeds toward a local program, or toward more peacebuilding events. Anything left over should be donated to a local shelter or local organization.

International or Global Focus

Panels on pressing international conflict: Organize a panel of professors, activists, community leaders, students and/or academics to sit on a panel to discuss a pressing issue of international conflict. Ask questions that relate to sustainable peacebuilding- you want to give people a background and greater understanding of the conflict, but you also want to encourage the speakers to talk about the possibilities of conflict resolution, violence prevention, intervention, or nonviolent solutions. Partner with your school to host this event, or collaborate with other student groups that may be focusing on international conflict.
Start a Conflict Free Campus Initiative through Raise Hope for Congo. "The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative draws on the power of student leadership and activism to bring about peace in Congo. By encouraging university officials and stakeholders, both of whom are large purchasers of electronics and powerful spokespersons, to commit to measures that pressure electronics companies to responsibly invest in Congo's minerals sector, students are voicing the demand for conflict-free products from Congo. Comprehensive reform is needed in Congo to bring about sustainable peace- now is the time is now for students to lead the conflict-free movement for peace in eastern Congo. For information on how to get involved and lead a campaign on your campus, check out the available resources on our page."

Educational Events (various topics)

History Month celebrations: Coordinating speaker series to talk about issues that various history months seek to bring to light. Example: Black History Month is an opportunity to shine light on the problem of racism. You can put on speaker series about inequalities in the justice system, prompting conversations about what we can do to rectify racial injustices. Invite community members that are working on these issues- ask them to share the programs they work with or know of.
Earth day events: Collaborate with other chapters or table for SPA, focusing on sustainable consumption, being engaged with the food you eat, with environmentalism, with how we treat the earth as a matter of how we treat each other. You can also do an event that focuses on the relationship between war and environmental degradation.
End the War on Drugs campaign: Host an event addressing the negative effects that the war of drugs has had, including disproportionate targeting of minorities for incarceration. You may choose to instead take a proactive approach by advocating for or educating about the positive effects that may come from legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, such as incarceration reduction and reduced school suspensions or expulsions. Invite speakers, teachers, students, or staff to speak on the issue. You may even find other student groups to collaborate with on hosting the event.
Teach-in: Set up teach-in series with professors or community activists, focusing on various issues relating to peacebuilding, social justice, human connectedness, prison reduction, feminism, global peace etc.

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Event Ideas

﻿﻿Film Screen﻿ings

﻿Creating Campus Communit﻿y ﻿

﻿Lobbying and Advocacy Events﻿

﻿Attention Grabbers﻿

﻿Board ﻿or Chapter Bonding﻿

﻿Recruit﻿m﻿ent﻿

Using th﻿e Arts﻿﻿

Promoting Inner Pea﻿ce