2013 Global Peace Index - Building Pillars of Peace

Source: Vision of Humanity

In our world of everyday activity here in the United States, we are protected from the more violent outbursts that occur around the world. We have our share of atrocities such as the massacre at Newtown, Connecticut, but compared to the levels of protests, violence, and deaths in other places, we are fairly removed from the day-to-day death and destruction facing civilians in countries such as Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Source: Vision of Humanity

Our push to talk to our students about peace-building, peace-making, and peace-keeping is ongoing, and we have written about it here, here, and here. The world has definitely changed since our first post about visualizing the effects of peace in 2011. Perhaps it is why we think it is so important to annually share the Global Peace Index (GPI) with our students. Sadly, the 2013 GPI is not as optimistic as it was for 2012, and there's been a gradual decline in the peace index over the past several years.

We know that we are winding down at the end of the school year, but perhaps we could encourage our students one last time to look at the GPI interactive map and watch the video highlighting the latest results. It's worth having an open discussion with our students to encourage them to be the forces of change for a more peaceful world. The interactive map and short video are well worth the time. They need to know it's not just a disruption to society, but also an enormous strain on the global economy. It's important to help students understand the financial impact behind the rise in violence.

According to the 2013 Global Peace Index, the world is a less peaceful place in part due to the sharp rise in the number of homicides. Take a minute to watch the following video, which highlights the most recent findings, with students. It's worth it.


We want our students to build "Pillars Of Peace" to push for change that promotes a more harmonious world. It needs to be long-lasting, but to do so it must be front and center.

"For humanity to prosper in a resource constraint world, a paradigm shift in managing international affairs is required to curtail global warfare."

- Steve Killelea, June 10, 2013