Ryan Canin
South Africa
Ryan is a South African teenager who has freshened his "concept of world peace" from the just ended peace summit in New York
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Ryan Canin
(At a Glance)
Place of Origin: South Africa
"Peace is possible" - A refreshing statement in this day and age of
intolerance and violence. However peace is seldom seen as a reality or
even a possibility. I never recognized this phrase as more than a
potential calendar note until now. The Just Peace Summit 2008, held in
New York City, has forever changed my life and perspective from which I
view the concept of peace. After spending an inspirational week with 29
other Global Teen Leaders from around the world who are each working to
address the basic needs of people in their countries I was truly
motivated to take action. During this week we learnt about many facets
that can help expand our projects. For each component we worked with
some of the top people in that field. We learnt how to use photographs
to tell a story by award-winning photographer Teun Voeten, and then
went on an assignment around Times Square to take photos with our newly
acquired skills only to be assisted later by professional photographers
in evaluating our efforts. When we were taught about using music and
film as a message it was presented by legendary figures in the business
such as Nile Rodgers, Jamal Joseph, Danny Schechter and Tom Silverman.
This was not your usual summit - it was the beginning of a world
changing movement called Three Dot Dash, Morse code for 'v', the symbol
of peace. The message of peace and its possibility was passed on to us
by Jeni Stepanek, using her son, Mattie's famous peace poems. This
Summit brought together 30 individuals with a common goal of peace and
now that we are family we will change the world together.