NOW NOVEMBER 6, 2020 ON ZOOM

Tandem Friends School, an independent Quaker school for grades 5-12, will host its second annual TANDEM Speaks! community event featuring John Hunter, a Charlottesville resident and current Founder and Director of the World Peace Game Foundation. 

Mr. Hunter will offer his unique perspectives on engaging students in complex issues and preparing them to be global citizens. The conversation will examine the topics of peace, the power of empathy, and tools to enable children to have a positive impact in the world and will be facilitated by Andrea Copeland-Whitsett, Founder of Positive Channels, a media production company highlighting positive news and members in the community.

Mr. Hunter, a native Virginian and graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, is an award-winning gifted teacher and educational consultant. Employing his background as a musician, composer and filmmaker during a 40 year career as a teacher, Hunter combined his gifted teaching and artistic talents to develop unique teaching programs using multimedia software in creative writing and film courses. He currently serves as Founder and Director of the World Peace Game Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading the practice and philosophy of the World Peace Game. He is also the proud parent of a Tandem Friends alumna.

The World Peace Game has been played in more than 30 countries as well as presented to the United Nations, the Pentagon, Google and the Dell Foundation.

“John Hunter’s work embodies what Friends Education and Tandem Friends, in particular, is all about. A key goal of Friends education is to provide a framework where students can explore their potential and see that everyone’s actions make a difference in meeting society’s challenges. From its inception in 1970, Tandem has always believed in the ability of young people to delve into real world issues and that anyone, regardless of age, can find within themselves the wisdom to identify possible solutions to those problems,” says Whitney Thompson, Tandem Friends Head of School and Tandem Friends parent.

All funds raised by TANDEM Speaks! will support financial aid at Tandem Friends School. Nearly 40 percent of Tandem students receive some form of financial aid. Tandem provides more than $1 million in financial aid annually which supports a student body that represents the greater Charlottesville community, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.