MARYLAND Infant and All-Age and Upper Rock Spring Infant and All-Age School were named winners of the second staging of the Violence Prevention Alliance’s (VPA’s) Peace Day Competition held on Tuesday in Hanover, taking the topmprizes from a field of 65 schools across the island.

Pell River Primary School was second while George Headley Primary School was third.

The day was celebrated under the theme ‘Peace is the Way for a Better Day’.

The competition, which was introduced in 2018, encourages schools across the island to designate a space for a ‘Peace Garden’. Made up of trees and shrubbery, these spaces are expected to be used for both conflict resolution and relaxation. Schools at the early childhood, primary, and secondary levels participated in the contest.

Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA, praised the students’ innovativeness and the effort put into the initiative.

“The entries were outstanding given the challenges with the drought last year. The judges were impressed with the entries and the level of work [done] to create the Peace Gardens,” she said.

She noted that the competition not only saw teachers and students working harmoniously to create gardens but, in some cases, entire communities.

According to Ward, the aim of the initiative is to spark a conversation around peace in schools and encourage schools to develop — with the help of guidance counsellors — programming geared towards peace-building and conflict resolution.

“Empowering our children with skills to avoid the use of violence and to resolve conflicts where they arise will facilitate building a more peaceful Jamaica,” she said.

Sponsors of the event included CB Facey Foundation, Jamaica National Foundation, Food for the Poor, Trees That Feed Foundation, Mona GeoInformatics Institute, the Early Childhood Commission, National Council on Drug Abuse, National Environment and Planning Agency, Forestry Department, and the Jamaica 4-H Clubs.

In the meantime, minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Alando Terrelonge, made a call for children to be taught dispute resolution techniques in their formative years as part of measures to promote peace in the society. He made the call while speaking at a peace day event at Naggo Head Primary School in Portmore on Tuesday.

“Unless we can start to train our youth in conflict resolution and how to resolve issues and disputes without violence, then we will not see a change,” he said.

He added that promoting peace includes eliminating corporal punishment as a means of disciplining children. The controversial topic of caning was in the news last month after head of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, Owen Speid advocated reinstating it as a form of punishment in certain cases. Terrelonge swiftly shot down the suggestion then, and on Tuesday repeated the education ministry’s stance on the issue.

“We think it is important to encourage the youngsters to be peaceful and to educate them on what it means to be peaceful. All children have the right to be raised in a non-violent environment,” he said.