As part of the Schools for Peace program led by David Kener, students from ATECH High School in Brooklyn visited the United Nations and viewed the interactive Hallway of Disarmament, an exhibit that invites visitors to imagine a world with fewer weapons and more pathways to peace. Behind the student is the word Disarmament, and in front of him is Escopetarra, the guitar created from an AK-47 that has become an international symbol of transforming instruments of violence into instruments of music.
In his hand, the student holds a newly commissioned guitar pick created by RAWtools in partnership with Armory of Harmony, organizations dedicated to repurposing unwanted firearms into objects of creativity, learning, and healing. Through these collaborations, students are able to see and touch the idea that change is possible — that even the most destructive materials can be reshaped into something meaningful.
Inspired by their visit to the United Nations, students in the Schools for Peace program go on to create their own Hallways of Disarmament in their schools, turning ordinary corridors into spaces for reflection, dialogue, and imagination. By connecting global ideas about disarmament with local, student-led projects, the program helps young people experience alternatives to violence and discover how acts of creativity can become acts of peace.
