Peace Child 2.0
– A dream unfolding –
Read the 1st Draft Outline Here
“Once upon a time – in the not-too-distant future, there is a world at peace with itself. A world in which climate change and global pandemics are a fading memory; in which the natural environment – the seas, the rivers, the forests, the biodiversity – are humanity’s most treasured resource – cared for, loved and stewarded like a precious child. Such a world is still quite far from our own, but you are moving towards it much faster than my generation did…..”
So opens future edition(s) of Peace Child – a Dream Unfolding – set in 2060 – 2171 – 2120 – 2180 – whenever! Why? – because the dream of Peace Child will never be fully realised. The Battle between Good and Evil – between reckless consumption and nurturing conservation, between tender care and cruel selfishness, between truth and lies – will be with us forever. From the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount to the UN Charter, from the Bhagavad Gita to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, each generation has tried in its own way to win victory for the forces of good. But however much we try, the malignant force of Evil always seems to rear its ugly head unpicking the small victories of the good.
Bobby’s and Katya’s from early performance of Peace Child in the 1980s: London’s Royal Albert Hall, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Baltimore
We know, because back in 1981, we wrote a musical play called Peace Child set 40 years in the future (2021) in a world at peace with itself and its environment. It told the story of a young American boy (Bobby) who meets a young Russian girl (Katya) at an Embassy garden cocktail party in Washington DC. They become friends and figure, if they can become friends, maybe their Presidents could too and stop preparing to blow each other up in a Cold War. The play was performed thousands of times across North America and around the world before helping to end the Cold War by initiating the first US-Soviet Youth/Cultural exchanges in 1986. But here we are in 2021 and the world is far from the peaceful, happy, truthful place we hoped we’d find ourselves in. We still have nuclear weapons; we have governments that lie and, worst, we have the existential threat of Climate Change. So – we need a new Peace Child story: Peace Child 2.0 – one in which children crack the problem of Climate Change and build peace while doing it.
That’s what we’re dreaming up here. And we hope you will help.
But – first we have to find out exactly what’s happening with the planet: how bad is climate change? Have we used up the resources that future generations will need to live? Do you know? We didn’t! So the starting point for Peace Child 2.0 is finding out the TRUTH about the State of the Planet. And for that, we have to go to the UN. Only the UN has the convening power to establish the verifiable facts and what we, the peoples and our governments can do about it. Once you get those facts straight, you can tell your story about how young people use their lives and energy to solve the problems in whatever way you like. What follows are just suggestions to start you thinking. Peace Child 2.0 needs your songs, your characters – your story which tells how your generation will fight the forces of evil so brilliantly to that you can pass on a peaceful, safe planet to the next generation with pride.