Let's khordiafy !

Let's create amity, new hope and stimulate a conflict-resistant society through our school children

This is the five-step story of how
khordiafy was conceived and a new word was born

From the seed of an idea a bold vision grew — a movement created to foster hope and positivity across Europe. At its heart, a simple but powerful concept: connect primary and elementary schools in multi-country clusters, engaging them in easily achieved collaborative activities that promote understanding and friendliness, and without the need for travel or for direct pupil contact.

The goal? To begin in 2025 and lay the groundwork for the next 80 years to be far better than the last, with enduring amity and understanding.

Back in January 2020, Brexit reshaped Europe, while that year also marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Since 1945, numerous pan-European projects and initiatives had been launched to prevent future conflict—but by 2020, had they truly forged the confident unity and enduring security they were meant to create, especially at grass roots level?

In the UK, these questions weighed heavily on the mind of Ian Hilton-Turvey, a father of three young adults, contemplating the prospect of grandchildren. As he reflected on Europe’s future, he wondered: Could something yet be done to spark hope? Could a new approach foster genuine friendliness across borders?

Meet Jenner, Bindy and Ted

He grappled with these issues when walking three dogs on a long-disused WWII munitions railway line in the Shropshire countryside.

Step One: Identifying the Core Problem

The roots of this dilemma trace right back to the aftermath of World War II. As the dust settled in late 1945, the overall challenge was undeniable — to break the cycle of centuries-old conflict and destruction, ensuring that such devastation would never be repeated. What could be done to encourage the people of Europe to think and act positively toward one another? What structures could cultivate a society resistant to conflict?

Sadly, despite eight decades of formal pan-European initiatives, these noble goals remain largely unrealised.

Step Two: A Fresh Start from Here

Ian decided that the opportunity to rectify this must still exists, but it requires an entirely new approach. Instead of relying on traditional institutions as before, this effort must challenge the status quo, reset expectations and establish an entirely new dynamic, organic movement.

Informed by his own international experiences, Ian recognized a crucial truth—whenever ordinary individual people from different nations meet informally, positive perspectives emerge, warm attitudes develop, and lasting bonds can take root. This insight revealed the crucial missing factor : Europe’s future generations must experience such connections firsthand, individually, personally, every one.

He could see that the solution lay in giving every single child an opportunity to build amity through their schools, and creating a system where meaningful interactions would take place annually, ensuring that eventually, year by year, every student participates.

Step Three: Visionary Ambition

For such a plan to succeed, it must be ambitious.
Every individual in each future generation should interact with the maximum possible number of people from other nationalities.
Schoolchildren must receive structured experiences that cultivate understanding and unity.
The initiative must be implemented at an age when children can deeply grasp and retain its significance.
This movement must be new, bold, and action-driven—a pioneering force for good throughout Europe.

The dogs had much more exercise than they expected up and down the old railway whilst the vision was formed into a clear initiative

Ted

Now, let's khordiafy !

Step Four: Structuring for Success

For such an initiative to thrive, it must be simple and strong:

Every single child must have the opportunity to engage in it - not just a fortunate few or just some selected participants.
Interaction must not require travel or the knowledge of other languages.
Engagement must be positive, fun, ensuring widespread participation.
The initiative must grow organically — not as a formal or institutionally funded program, but as a dynamic, expanding movement.
Safeguarding and security are paramount, with children participating solely through their schools and under rigorous protection.
The movement’s geographical scope will not be limited by political definitions of Europe—after all, its birthplace, the UK, stands outside the EU post-Brexit.
With that in. mind, this journey begins with UK schools extending invitations to their counterparts across Europe, sparking a chain reaction.

With the 80th anniversary of WWII in 2025 serving as a reminder of the past, this new movement sets our sights on shaping the next 80 years to be better than the last — building a legacy of unity to carry forward to the year 2105 and beyond.

Finally, Step Five: The Birth of a Completely New Word

A momentous initiative of this scale requires a name that is as bold as its mission.

It needs more than just a word—it needs a strong symbol. Something that functions as both noun and verb, resonates across languages, effortlessly blending meaning and phonetics from various linguistic traditions.

Through an extensive linguistic research project, this new word was forged:

‘KHORDIAFY’

Starting from here, acting together we can build something truly extraordinary — a future defined by connection and amity. The invitation to schools to participate, 'to Khordiafy', is now reaching classrooms across Europe.

...and all with a little thanks to the three spaniels, Jenner, Bindy and Ted!