In 1978, John Hunter—a public school teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia—decided to invent a game for his young students called the World Peace Game.
In the game, students are divided into made-up countries. They’re each given a specific role, such as Prime Minister or Secretary of the United Nations. Then, they’re tasked with solving real-world scenarios including war, climate change, even global pandemics.
Nearly half a century later, the game is renowned. It’s been taught to children worldwide, and, as it turns out, kids are pretty good at solving the planet’s most pressing problems.
John came to StoryCorps with former student, Irene Newman, to remember the time his class was invited to the Pentagon to share their advice on world peace.
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Originally aired Oct 11, 2024, on NPR’s Morning Edition.