Team Peace Proposal

8/9/2019 Team Peace Proposal

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E A MTPEACEWeston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson


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TEAM PEACEWeston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

The Olympic games are where top athletesfrom around the world come to compete, notonly for themselves but for their country. Thegoal is to win Olympic gold. These gamesare one of the few worldwide events that grabthe attention of the whole world. Every four

years these games come around, so whenthey do, people around the world seem tobe enthralled and committed to cheering ontheir countries team.

With this being said, Team Peace would like to propose theestablishment of the Peace Stadium. This is where the

concept of the Olympic game comes in. We want to createa space that will bring in people from around the real andSecond Life world, not only because of the grandeur of thestadium, but because they want to know what is going on inthe world and what they can do to help. This stadium will bea place to put up boards that display different issues fromaround the world. This stadium will also provide a spacefor the Virtual Peace Garden to hold special events to raiseawareness of important world and political issues.

The designers of Team Peace want to take this conceptand apply it to world issues. We understand thatraising awareness of world and political issues is anecessity particularly to this Virtual Peace Garden. Also,we understand the importance of helping develop thisVirtual Peace Garden into a space where anybody cancome and enjoy, whether it is for educational purposes

or for mere entertainment. Thirdly, we understand thata successful Virtual Peace Garden would hold specificevents on specific days to raise awareness of importantworld and political issues.


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You finally reach the end of the tunnel and come to realize that youre not alonein your journey. Looking ahead, a giant archway greets you. This archway leads

to the giant field in the middle of the stadium. In the stands boards upon boardsdisplaying different world and political issues sit. Now, imagine yourself centerfield, looking in the crowd, all you see is the different issues this world has andthey are watching you, waiting for you to do something, waiting for you to takeaction and score the gaming winning goal. This may seem overwhelming, butremember though, youre not alone! After you have taken action, and found anissue that has pulled your heart strings and is leading you to doing somethingabout it, you come back into the large room. In this room there will be shops andconcessions, and all money spent would go to a cause of your choice.

Proposal:Ultimately, we understand that raising awareness of world and political issues isof utmost importance. Therefore, let me give you a verbal tour of our stadium.Imagine yourself standing before giant, intricately designed doors, and as theyslowly open they unveil a long, softly lit hallway. This signifies the start of your

journey, maybe a personal journey or maybe your journey in finding a way thatyou can this world and there issues. Whatever it is, you will know that it will neverbe too daunting because at the end of the tunnel you see the light. As you presson towards the light, it continuously grows brighter; you also begin to make outwhat seems to be a large, bright room, filled with the commotion that is typicallyfound at a major sporting event.


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The boards would be visually engaging inorder for the user to feel the urge to fly up andtake a closer look at the issues. As they readover the problems they will either have thechoice of playing the game of soccer or tocontinue moving around the stadium in orderto educate themselves. Looking around theywill find that more often than not others in thestadium will be spending more time checkingout the boards as well.

Among the issues that we would like to have on theboards are three in particular that we as a group havethoroughly researched. The first issue that we would liketo expose is the pros and cons of offshore oil drilling. InNorth America. Secondly, we will reveal the traumatictreatment of children in Africa. Finally, we will illuminatethe issue of water in the Middle East. These are just three

of our hot button issues that we would like to start within the hopes of inviting others to join in and participate inadding to and familiarizing themselves with current eventsand issues around the world. That will keep everyonecoming back for more, including the three of us who willbe curious to see what others have to say.


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The boards will focus on facts that really put in perspective just how devastatingthese issues are. Like we mentioned earlier, water in the Middle East is growingmore and more scarce. It is our goal to demonstrate just what that means to thepeople not just living in the Middle East but also people that are going to feel theseeffects across the world. Over 1.3 billion people have no access to clean drinkingwater. 2.2 million people die every year from diseases related to unsafe drinkingwater, which is about 10,000 deaths from bad water each day. That means thatevery minute 7 people die from bad drinking water.

We really want to put an emphasis the design of the boards in the stands. It isimperative that they not only catch the readers eye but they strike a nerve in thereader making them care as much as we do. If we can inspire even one personwith these boards than we have accomplished something.


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We want to propose building a space that will bring people together and showthem all the issues of the world. Also, to provide a space that will be enjoyableand educational, and be used for specific events that raise awareness. Our

vision will provide this Virtual Peace Garden a chance to become the epicenter ofpromoting peace. Our team will stand by our vision with confidence and see toit that this becomes a reality.

As for offshore drilling in the USA, oil from offshore drilling could replace closeto 10 percent of our oil imports. This will make less dependent on the MiddleEast. Also, the crude oil found in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico reach ashigh as 40 billion barrelsenough to satisfy U.S consumption for up to five years.Drilling could generate new jobs, and will lower oil prices (at the current level ofconsumption) by around 9 percent.

And in Africa children are enslaved as soldiers, some are put to work as youngas the age of three. Many children soldiers are recruited off the streets. Manychildren soldiers are recruited off the streets. Many of these children showedsymptoms of war trauma, malnutrition and numerous skin infections as well as

sexually transmitted diseases. Both government and rebel forces abducted manychildren, who were socialized into violence shortly after their capture to preventthem returning to their villages. Not only is the child told to forget their familybut they are forced to live a life of killing and violence. 200,000 child soldiersthroughout Africa are said to be abductedd into this terrible army of children.


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If youre not already sold on our proposal,then let us help you in solidifying that weare the best team fit for the job. We are

young, ambitious, and confident. We alsoare teachable, and willing to learn anythingthat will better diversify us to bring the bestand latest design aspects to our projects.This is a big project but it takes drive anda vision, our team will have no problemgathering the resources necessary to makethis project a reality.

Lets step back for a minute, a stadium of thissize and grandeur might have some limitations.Due to limited space in the Virtual PeaceGarden; a preferable size might have to becompromised. Also, bringing in future architectsto build this stadium might be unfeasible. Weas Team Peace are unconditionally confidentin our proposal and our vision that any of theselimitations are merely pebbles in our path tomake this Peace Garden the Second Life hub ofraising awareness of world issue.


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(2005). The Rites of the Child: Global Discourses of Youth and ReintegratingChild Soldiers in Sierra Leone. Journal of Human Rights, 4(2), 197-211. Re-trieved from E-Journals database.This article gives a brief background of Sierra Leone whos status is based offof the Civil War that took place from (1991-2002) One of the issues that stuckout was the issue of child labor. Children were used to carry out acts of war.They were used to carry out acts of violence as well as misused. For examplethey were offered drugs and girls became pregnant. By the end of the conflict,a full 75 percent of the Sierra Leone population reported being displaced atleast once during the warToday,according to the most recent Human Development Report by the Unit-

ed National Development Program, Sierra Leone is the country with the lowestquality of life in the world (2003: 334).Even though aid efforts are being made but the UN violence could still breakout given certain circumstances. The United Nations has a large presence witha large peacekeeping force as well as other UN-sponsored agencies, such asthe UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees), UNDP(UN DevelopmentProgramme), UNICEF (The United Nations Childrens Fund), and WFP (UNWorld Food Programme).

(2006). Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone and the Problems of Demobilisation,Rehabilitation and Reintegration into Society: Some Lessons for Social Workersin War-torn Societies. Social Work Education, 25(2), 119-128. Retrieved fromE-Journals database.This article focuses much on the aftermath of child soldier issues. The chil-dren are obviously going to be damaged as a result of this war. They need tobe rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. The concept of a Gemeinschaftenvironment is brought up and informs the issue of children being pushedtowards social movements. Children are assets to the family and provide thefamily with income. Some are put to work as young as the age of three. Manychildren soldiers are recruited off the streets. Many of these children showedsymptoms of war trauma, malnutrition and numerous skin infections as well as

sexually transmitted diseases. Both government and rebel forces abductedmany children, who were socialized into violence shortly after their captureto prevent them returning to their villages. This article however does not givemuch background on the specific problems of the child. The article uses manyscientific words and is hard to understand to the common reader.

William N. Dale. (1991). American Diplomacy. Commentary and Analysis: MiddleEast Water Problems. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll /2001_07-09/dale_water/dale_water.html.


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Professor Dale has provided maps and charts that are going to be helpful aswell as an abundance of information regarding the pressing issue. I hope to usethis site in a number of ways. It not only explains why the area is suffering butalso how it affects the people and why it needs to be addressed sooner thanlater. It explains that water from the Red Sea could be diverted to the Dead Sea. Ithink this would be an interesting focus being that many people can relate to thisbeing that there are many areas of the world that are dealing with water issues.Not just water shortages but also flooding (Fargo) and hurricane Katrina (NewOrleans). It will be interesting going forward.

World Health Organization. (1989). Health guidelines for the use of wastewater in

agriculture and aquaculture: Middle East Water Storage. Retrieved April 9, 2010from http://weather.nmsu .edu/hydrology/wastewater/Wastewater.htm.This site is a great source for highlighting organizations that are helping to fightthe water crisis. I believe this site will serve as a starting point to compare thedifferent countries in the Middle East as well as the groups in the various countriesand how they affect the cause.

Zwick, E. (Director). (2006). Blood Diamond (Full Screen Edition) Motion picture.U.S.A.: Warner Home Video.This movie is based during the civil war of Sierra Leone in 1992. The governmentbecame corrupt and rebels formed who fought to overtake the government.Those rebels led invasions of villages to kidnap people to be used. Innocentpeople would be taken and recruited as slaves. In this case the father was takento a diamond field where he was out to work. The young son was kidnapped tofight for the rebel force. The recruitment of child soldiers was one of the mostdamaging aspects of the conflict that took place as a result of the civil war.There were many events in the movie that described the vulnerability of thechildren. The kids were brainwashed into thinking that they were being turnedinto saviors who would save the country. They were told they would be soldiersof the revolution. They were blindfolded and forced to shoot innocent people.The children were also exposed to heavy drug use and alcohol use that brought

them into a life of deception and dependency. One scene in the movie showedan orphanage where kids were exposed to things such as schooling, religion,nourishment and activities such as playing SOCCER. there were still 200,000child soldiers throughout Africa. This movie puts into perspective the powerfuleffect that the separation of a family specifically the effects of the recruitment ofa child as a soldier. Not only is the child told to forget their family but they areforced to live a life of killing and violence.


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Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

Documents

Team Peace Proposal