Peace Talks is a speech competition for college students highlighting peacebuilding and courageous communication.
Peace Talks is a project of More Than Just Stories, a new media hub made possible through a five-year, $5 million faith and storytelling grant to Goshen College from Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The goals of Peace Talks include:
- Establish an annual public speaking event for young people
- Cultivate student leadership through mentorship
- Elevate faith-based speaking and storytelling about peace
Peace Talks are held in the Umble Center on the Goshen College campus in Goshen, Indiana.
Peace Talks will first be held September 18-20, 2026, with the contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 19. The full schedule will be posted at a later date.
Peace Talks is a speech competition for undergraduate college students highlighting peacebuilding and courageous communication. It is open to the public on the Goshen College campus and through the livestream.
For the inaugural year of Peace Talks on September 19, colleges and universities that participate in the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest are invited to send a contestant and a faculty or staff mentor, whether or not the institution held a contest on their campus in 2026. Each year the contest will grow as eligibility widens. In 2027, Peace Talks is open to students from other faith-based colleges in Indiana. In 2028, Peace Talks will be open to students from all colleges and universities across Indiana. In 2029, Peace Talks will be open to students from all colleges and universities across the United States.
Cash awards for the speakers for 2026 are as follows:
- First place: $1,000
- Second place: $800
- Third place: $600
Peace Talks is completely free for one contestant and one faculty or staff member to attend from each participating college or university. Grant funding for this all-expense-paid experience covers the cost of travel, food, hotel stay, and the Peace Talks sessions and workshops.
Peace Talks will be live at the Umble Center at Goshen College and will also be livestreamed, with a link available here and on Goshen College’s site at a later date.
Peace Talks is different from the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contests. Peace Talks builds on, extends and expands the model of the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical contests. Peace Talks will be a discrete opportunity, not intended to replace the campus contests or the binational C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest managed by Mennonite Central Committee. The winning speakers at Peace Talks may be different from the winners in the MCC binational C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest.
Downtown Goshen is buzzing with small businesses and shops. Stroll down Main Street and check out stores like Ten Thousand Villages for fair-trade crafts & housewares from around the world; Found for international art, furniture and jewelry; Goshen Theater for art and events; and Fables Books, with shelves brimming with titles for readers of all ages and interests.
Enjoy the outdoors
Fidler Pond Park (1424 Lincoln Hwy) is a serene setting for walking, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, picnicking and enjoying nature.
Pick up the Millrace Trail just west of campus, which will take you about 1.5 miles along Goshen’s historic Millrace canal to downtown Goshen.
Ox Bow Park (23033 Co Rd 45) offers miles of meandering trails through woodlands and wetlands, plus playgrounds, shelters and a 24-hole Disc Golf course. ($3/vehicle entrance fee)
Other helpful resources for the area: goodofgoshen.com and visitelkhartcounty.com.
Goshen College is a nationally ranked college in Indiana, renowned for its purposeful and integrated curriculum, distinctive hands-on, real-world educational opportunities, and commitment to creating positive change in the world.
Located in the City of Goshen, the college’s 135-acre, tree-filled campus is home to about 850 students, including more than 52% who identify as students of color or from countries outside of the U.S. It offers over 45 undergraduate areas of study, as well as best-in-class graduate programs in nursing, business administration, environmental education and social work.
Named the #1 Bachelor’s College in Indiana by Washington Monthly and listed among Princeton Review’s Greenest Colleges, Goshen prides itself on providing an integrated and multifaceted education that connects arts with sciences, and foundation with practice — exposing students to multiple perspectives and encouraging them to think deeply and live purposefully. With 95% of graduates entering their careers, service work or pursuing further education within a year of completion, Goshen students graduate prepared to thrive in their lives and careers and to make meaningful and measurable impacts on their communities and their relationships with others.