SFP Celebrates UN International Day of PeaceSeptember 21, 2007The International Day of Peace, established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly, was first inaugurated on the third Tuesday of September, 1982. Beginning on the 20th anniversary in 2002, the UN General Assembly set 21 September as the now permanent date for the International Day of Peace.
In establishing the International Day of Peace, the United Nations General Assembly decided that it would be appropriate
"to devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as of the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways… (The International Day of Peace) should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples."The Assembly's resolution declared that the International Day of Peace
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will serve as a reminder to all peoples that our Organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the Organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace. May this Peace Day indeed be a day of peace." Every year, Service For Peace chapters throughout the world organize a wide array of projects to promote the International Day of Peace. Here is a selection of this year’s activities:
Mongolia
1000 students from school 92 did Peace Lessons Peace Bell Ceremony with representatives from all religions
In partnership with the Capital Education, Science and Culture Authority, SFP Mongolia was able to involve more than 6,000 children from 70 schools from every corner of Ulaanbaatar in the Minute of Silence at 12:00 noon. The teachers of subjects such as literature, history, geography, language, art and culture organized all of the day’s lessons under the theme of “Children of the World Asking for Peace”. Throughout the day, children were talking, discussing, writing, drawing and thinking about peace.
At one of the city schools, the Special Adviser to the President and Service For Peace Mongolia President N. Sodnomdorj delivered an opening speech followed by congratulation remarks of the school Principal.
All of the IDP events this year were conducted in Ulaanbaatar. For children in the rural areas, SFP was able to inform them of what was happening in Ulaanbaatar through a famous children’s TV Program called “Firefly.” Over two days, two one-hour programs explained the International Day of Peace and its purpose..
In another program on the same day, more than 700 people including elders and disabled children, received free medical treatment and service during the Day of Peace celebration. All six districts of the capital city actively participated in the project. District medical centers and sub districts helped to organize the patients. Students from the Medical University were involved in treating the patients and said they understood more deeply the importance of service and the value of their profession.
The culminating ceremony of the day was a program of prayers from all faiths around the Bell of Peace in Sukhbaatar Square at 7.00 p.m. The Ceremony was opened by Ms Pratibha Mehta, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, who read the International Day of Peace Message from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.
Philippines
Cleaning the community Music For Peace Live Band Showdown
Service For Peace in the Philippines organized a wide array or programs throughout the country, bringing together thousands of volunteers and many important guest speakers from the fields of politics, education, religion and culture. The projects included a Muslim-Christian Cooperation Program, Music For Peace Live Band Showdown and others.
The Service For Peace’s Program of Muslim and Christian Cooperation in the Philippines is designed to build greater trust between Muslims and Christians and to create opportunities for both to work together. Through the International Day of Peace, we celebrated the day as a one-day ceasefire for Muslims and Christians in Mindanao and all over the world. In addition to the main activity of house-building, the volunteers engaged in a poster-making contest and cultural activities.
The Music For Peace Live Band Showdown involved 17 bands who played for a crowd of 600 students who had all been involved in service projects that day.
Bulgaria
Volunteers giving Free Hugs in exchange for Peace Pledges Orphans collecting Peace Pledges at a concert they organized for IDP
Our affiliate in Bulgaria in partnership with UNA-Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Red Cross, organized a series of events. Volunteers helped orphans from an orphanage in Sofia organize a concert for IDP, where they sang songs, recited poems, and played short skits that they created especially for the celebration. On September 20th, volunteers stationed in front of the National Palace of Culture showed passers-by how to make origami cranes, which are a symbol of peace in Japan. Passers-by learned to make origami cranes and signed peace pledges. The peace pledges were simple promises that people made for something that they would do on Peace Day for themselves or for someone else. On September 21st, volunteers stationed at another central location in Sofia, gave out Free Hugs in exchange for Peace Pledges. Later that evening, there was a public screening of the film by Jeremy Gilley “Peace One Day,” documenting the story how IDP became a fixed date in the calendar in 2001, as well as a day of global ceasefire.
Taiwan Province of China
SFP-Taiwan Province of China Director G.Jensen leading a peace workshop The youngest hugger of IDP in Taiwan Province of China
SFP-Taiwan Province of China organized a peace workshop for local students in the town of Kaosiung. Later that day, the participants in the workshop gave out Free Hugs in honor of the Day.
Middle East
On September 20th, the Middle East chapter of “Service for Peace” organized a celebration in collaboration with Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND), a Palestinian non-violence organization, and a large coalition of organizations joined. The celebration gathered peace activists from both Israel and Palestine, in order to draw their attention to the IDP, to exchange experiences and ideas, as well as to present them with larger perspective about what can each one do in order to contribute to peace in the region. The event was an informal seminar with many activities that aimed at allowing the participants to experience the joy of being together as a starting point of living in peace. The activities included workshops on many non-violence techniques, discussions on nurturing peace in ourselves, in our communities and beyond, presentations of various peace organizations and their activities. Dinner was cooked and served by “Chefs for Peace,” the event included an art performance, singing together, and a minute of silence contemplating on peace. One of the main outcomes of the event was an initiative for the creation of a Ministry of Non-Violence and Peace in both Israel and Palestine, signed by the participants. This initiative was advanced on the celebration on the IDP and it will grow in the future.
Cote d’Ivoire
Around the peace tree Reading message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
Service For Peace celebrated the International Day of Peace in three stages in Cote d’Ivoire. During the first step, 20 volunteers, using the slogan “Give for Peace” raised $400. They asked 400 people, to give only $1 each as a contribution to advance peace. This donation will be used to buy scholars kits for the kids of the locality. The second step involved peace messages delivered by community chiefs and the young people of Djebonoua. After the messages, at 12 noon, all the participants gathered for a minute of silence around the Peace Tree planted by Service For Peace volunteers last year for IDP.
At 2 p.m., the local office of the United Nations in Bouake welcomed the SFP volunteers. After the military honors, Mr Kamara Fode, chief of the civilian officers, read a message of peace from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Thailand
Children writing peace messages
Service For Peace-Thailand joined the commemoration of UN’s International Day of Peace on September 21 and 22 together with the Bangkok Metropolitan Youth Council. More than 500 youth joined this event and wrote messages of peace. Some guests of honor were the Governor of Bangkok and Mr. Abhirak Kosayothin.
At 12 noon on the 21st, 6,700 students at three local schools stood for a minute of silence. At the International Day of Peace celebration, SFP invited the participant schools to join the project “Love and Share for the Learners of the South.” The schools were asked to give classroom materials to the victims of conflict in the South of Thailand where many schools burned down.
Zambia
SFP-Zambia volunteers went to Walale Nutrition Center, on the outskirts of Luanshya, which caters to about 500 children ages between 2-6 years and cooked and served for them a free lunch. The 20 volunteers prepared and served food to about 200 children, providing a break for the workers who do this job every day of the week. The response of the children, staff and volunteers mean that there will be many more visits like this one. “The Catholic Sister in charge of the project was very happy about our gesture of peace and good will extended to these children in this compound,” said the project director, Annette Mumba. “Indeed we have formed a bond, because of the great need at the center, we plan to constantly go back and render our services.”
