COLLEGES in Bournemouth are aiming for a million acts of peace and kindness as part of a worldwide effort to resolve conflicts peacefully.

Bournemouth East Cliff Rotary is supporting the Avonbourne Trust in the launch of the PeaceJam programme across its four academies in Bournemouth.

PeaceJam is a worldwide organisation that connects young people with 13 Nobel peace laureates working together on a mission to create young leaders committed to positive change and exploring peaceful resolution to disputes.

The local initiative started when Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, chief executive of Avonbourne Trust, and the principals of Avonbourne and Harewood colleges attended a presentation organised by East Cliff Rotary. They decided to integrate Peacejam in the curriculum.

Students are being encouraged to perform acts of peace and kindness and record them against a target of one million, towards PeaceJam’s international target of a billion.

Barometers have been set up at the entrance of each college to record progress. A large banner with pictures of the peace laureates will be outside the school gates as a reminder.

Earlier this year, East Cliff Rotary recently sponsored six students to attend the annual PeaceJam conference in Winchester, led by Nobel peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum.

Rotarian John Maddox, who co-ordinated the project, said it offered a “beacon of hope” to support peaceful resolutions to everyday troubles.

He said: “This is a good news story amongst all the reports of violence and ill-will that the media reports on a daily basis.”