Changing the world through respect

The social and political activist who wrote the renowned children's song Puff, the Magic Dragon inspired students at the Canadian International School (CIS) on Monday when he told them they had the power to change the world through tolerance of others.

Peter Yarrow, a member of the legendary American folk band Peter, Paul and Mary, visited the school to promote Operation Respect - a movement he founded to create safe, caring and respectful environments for children.

The singer, who was in Hong Kong to perform two concerts over the weekend, was an advocate of the civil rights and peace movements in the 1960s.

During the one-hour show, Yarrow performed his trademark song about a little boy growing up, and also Peter, Paul and Mary's campfire favourite, Blowing in the Wind. He also sang Don't Laugh At Me, the theme song for Operation Respect. A promotional video for the campaign was screened, and at the end of the show, teachers gathered onstage to sing with Yarrow.

Operation Respect is a curricula programme designed to inspire children - along with their teachers and other educators - to transform their classrooms and schools into 'ridicule-free zones'.

More than 18,000 schools in North America have requested Operation Respect's free material and Yarrow has performed in about 150 schools a year since the campaign was founded in 2000.