NORTH AMERICA

Nickole Evans

Teen Uses Internet to Promote Peace and Nonviolence

“What is more important to me [than awards] is I have gotten friends to help the community. The more of us that are helping others, the better our world will be.”

Nickole Evans grew up in a low-income area of Kennewick, a town in Southeastern Washington. Kennewick is a place where immigrants and refugees often arrive when relocating to the United States. Since early childhood, Evans has played with children from Nigeria, Ukraine, Mexico, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

On February 1998, Evans and a friend were beaten by a gang of Bosnian kids. In spite of having been hurt, Evans chose peace over retaliation. She reconciled with the families of the people who assaulted her, and doubled her efforts to help Bosnian young people traumatized by war live peacefully in her neighborhood.

When she was 14 Evans created a Web site to help young people share their feelings about violence—both in school and elsewhere. This site, www.y2kyouth.org, covers issues that concern young people, from race and religion to overpopulation. Evens educated herself about computer technology, and now teaches others how to use the Web to advocate peace and nonviolence. She averages 200 hours volunteering per year. In 1999 she won the Global Youth Peace and Tolerance Award.