Great Peacemaker Inspired Presentations
Looking for an entertaining, educational, and inspirational presentation for your classroom or organization? Artist and author Steve Simon offers a variety of great peacemaker inspired presentations to fit your interests. A list of available presentations is provided below. Each may be customized to suit your needs. For more information, please contact Steve.
The American Experience
The history of the United States is explored through icons who contributed to the creation of the American identity. The great social justice movements of abolition, women's suffrage, and civil rights are tracked through the powerful personalities who forged these efforts. The extraordinary story and symbolism of The Statue of Freedom atop the US Capitol Dome concludes this presentation with a discussion of what is meant by "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Female Portraits of Peace and Power
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This presentation begins with the historical influences that led to the long-standing realities of gender imbalance and the impact gender imbalance has had had on impeding broader peace. It, then, features female personalities who through great inner power have left (or are leaving) a profoundly positive legacy. From girls such as Malala Yousafzai and Sadako Sasaki to suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to Nobel Peace Prize laureates like Leymah Gbowee and Mother Teresa, this presentation covers a broad scope of luminaries.
You may view the complete presentation by clicking on the video to the right. |
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Compassion: The Bullying Antidote
Bullying is a highly topical issue that elicits emotional responses from most young students. Many of the Great Peacemakers were objects of extreme bullying. Those who endured slavery such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman endured a kind of extreme physical and emotional abuse. Still others like Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez were targets of bullying forces designed to break their will. These examples are used to illustrate the deep injustice of bullying. This presentation, however, does not focus on the evils of insensitivity and violence but rather the virtues of compassion and cooperation. The examples of compassionate peacemakers such as the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela are used to build the case that we are all interconnected. The health, prosperity, and peace of one is inextricably bound to other.
Warriors of the Rainbow: Environmental Stewardship and World Citizenship
With the declining ecology of the planet reigning as the most pressing issue of our time, ambitious international cooperation to care for our shared environment needs immediate attention. This presentation explores the philosophies of naturalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Rachel Carson, and Jane Goodall.
Determining Your Path
This presentation is specifically designed for high school students, especially juniors. Teenagers today face a bewildering and stressful series of challenges and decisions. Perhaps most daunting of all is the decision of "what to do with their lives." High school graduates generally base these important life decisions upon societal pressures, financial resources, aptitude tests, and a frightening lack of information. As a solution to the madness, this presentation draws upon a timeless aspect common to all luminaries of any discipline—the enduring importance of identifying and following one's passion.
Enough Foolishness: Lessons from History's Great Peacemakers
The problems that prevent a more universally shared experience of health, prosperity, and peace seem, at times, insurmountable. The countless examples of peacemakers great and small, however, show time and again the seemingly foolish endeavors of perseverant idealists can and do succeed. In studying dozens of figures who have had a profoundly positive impact on our world, Steve Simon has identified characteristics common to each—the lessons of the great peacemakers.
Exhibits (coming soon)
An exhibition featuring forty retractable banners depicting The Great Peacemakers will be available soon.
