The Character and Creativity Initiative of the Global Peace Foundation is not just promoting academic excellence, but also cultivating peace and community-building skills for schools in Uganda, Paraguay, Malaysia, and other countries around the world.

These schools have begun to demonstrate a higher level of innovation, entrepreneurship, and teamwork, as well as cultivate a culture of peace that took hold in the school and wider community. Parents and community members have been key contributors to this school-wide transformation, pointing to the importance of the school-home-community connection in raising the “whole child”.

Education and Entrepreneurship in 2018

The active participation of administration, staff, teachers, students and parents inside and outside of school bolstered the teaching of character and creativity in CCI classrooms. The Character and Creativity Initiative worked to bring together local leaders of different faiths to be a part of this community-wide effort to further spread the message of respect, dialogue, reconciliation, teamwork and unity beyond religious and cultural boundaries.

When students of diverse backgrounds work together for projects such as community cleans-ups, tree planting and support work for orphans, they model desirable attitudes and behaviors for those they serve; developing a culture of care and service among students, families and the community.

1. In Uganda, parents of students are invited to participate and observe their children during School Visitation Days, which has helped to invite higher parent participation in schools. This, in turn, has shown to make more accurate assessments and evaluations to tailor learning and engagement in ways that improve discipline, academic performance and create effective solutions to a student’s unique challenges.

2. In Malaysia, teachers and administrators participate in retreats for teacher empowerment, rekindling their passion to help transform education to better serve their students, their families, and communities.

3. Kenyan students at a CCI school, Buru Buru, introduced an environmental program incorporating planting trees of virtues as a way of nurturing character and creativity.

This practice takes on the idea that in educating for a world of One Family Under God, individual families must be engaged to become the basis for peace and development of every individual.  Parents and teachers jointly work together to educate the “whole person” by engaging and implementing CCI’s best practices in schools, homes and the entire community.