Five Days to Change the World

Student activists create their own peace agenda.
Written, directed and produced by Robert Richter

"...a riveting program that may inspire other young people to think about and perhaps take positive steps to achieve world peace."
—School Library Journal

Narrated by Martin Sheen, this moving documentary focuses on a group of student activists attending the world's largest peace conference—the 1999 Hague Appeal for Peace and Justice—as they rebel against conference procedures and create their own agenda for peace in the 21st century.

Activists, young and old, devise concrete steps aimed at ending the use of child soldiers, land mines, the trade in small arms, nuclear weapons, establishing a permanent international criminal court, peace education, expanding the role of women in the peace process, and reducing debt by poor countries. Archival footage places these issues in historic context.

"...conveys the earnestness of the young people, many of whom came from war-torn countries. In just a few days, they were able to influence the larger conference agenda... Highly recommended."
—Library Journal

Among the 10,000 activists from 100 countries participating in the gathering were Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor, Joseph Rotblat of England, Jody Williams of the U.S., Rigoberto Menchu of Guatemala, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Queen Noor of Jordan, Mary Brownell of Liberia, Vandana Shiva of India, Arundhati Roy of India, Jonathan Schell of the U.S., William Pace of the World Federalists, and conference leader Cora Weiss.

57 minutes

Study Areas: Social and political history, developing nations, economics, globalization, human rights, peace studies, student activism, cultural anthropology

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Five Days to Change the World