21 September 2009 - member activities

The members of UNOY Peacebuilders have organised activities on 21 September all over the world. Here are their stories:

National Federation of Youth Organisations in Bangladesh

The International Day of peace was celebrated by Bangladesh PTPI Students Chapter and National Federation of Youth Organisations in Bangladesh (NFYOB) in a festive mood not just at the national level but also in the grassroots in Bangladesh. At the national level a child rally, art competition, bring out wall magazine and an exchange and sharing meeting on the importance of children responsibility and rights was held with the young peoples. On the day (21st September, 2008) a rally was held in which 100 children took part. After that an art competition was held at Shushu Kanon Art School in Dhaka. The subjects were 'beautiful country' and 'peace for all'.

In the afternoon a sharing opinion and views on the importance of Children responsibility and rights was held with the young people. Students from 5 different institutions participated in that program and expressed their opinions and ideas. After the discussion they committed to do at least one good thing/work for their family and also for country everyday.

Mr. Dulal Biswas Secretary General of National Federation of Youth Organisations in Bangladesh (NFYOB), Mr. Bidhan Chandra Pal, Executive Member of NFYOB and Contact Person for SAYEN-BD, Mr. Syed Arif Mohammad Rumi, Principal, Shishu Kanon and Social Worker Mr. Abdul Latif were also speaking at the event. Mr. Dulal Biswas discussed the role of young people to create a peaceful world and the importance to build up war free world for the future generation. He read out the message from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon on World Peace Day. Mr. Biswas also distributed prize among the winners of the art competition. The main theme of the Wall Magazine was 'We want war free world for the children'. Many students were wrote poems, jokes, articles on that wall.

A few NGOs also organized programs and the day was celebrated at district level in more than 8 places and youth members organized special discussion to discuss the importance of that day.

Service Civil International, Malaysia

The 2008 International Day of Peace was commemorated in Malaysia in many fronts. SCI a partner with the M4WP and PfPM (Partners for Peace Malaysia) held a 2 days events aimed at touching the hearts of the participants with activities that involved children, youth, NGOs, local councils that included:

Interfaith prayers for peace
Launch of the Peace Convoy (330kmx2) by a Datuk Bandar (Mayor)
A Peace Gift from one council to another by mean of a native Tree
Visit to 2 famous of worships
Joint Buka Puasa (Breaking of fast)
Viewing of UN Chief Speech, Peace One day, Prem Rewat, Soga Gakkai, Special Olympic's tape
Signing of the Peace Declaration
Light for Peace
Peace Art Competition
Planting of the Peace Tree
One minute of Silence
Closing at the Temple of Universal Spirit

The organisations focused on building bridges between different communities, racial divide, age groups through their pro-action and deeds related activities.

Note: SCI Belgium is a member of UNOY Peacebuilders. The above text refers to the activities of the SCI branch in Malaysia.

Dinamismo Juvenil, Mexico

On the 28th September, a peace and earth fair took place in Alameda de la Santa Maria la Ribera neighborhood in Mexico City. The objective was to organise an educative and pedagogic space to develop abilities and capacities thought an entertainment space for families. The event was an opportunity to empower dialogue skills and make reflections about the situation of the community and education, finding different ways on how to build a culture of peace, an active citizenship, and how to promote environmental awareness.

One of the most interesting activities in this event was the recycling of cans. For each 10 cans, people received a Bonsai tree. There was also interesting workshops organised by different organisations in which more than 150 persons participated.

The younth from Dinamismo Juvenil organised a workshop about culture of peace promoting a reflection about violence against children. The event also included musical and artistic activities, dance shows and Latin jazz concerts.

The most important achievement was to realize the importance of working together in the community, together with others sectors such as the academy, the civil society, and local governments. The event was a huge success and the result of five months' effort where the community commitment was the main motivation. This event was an expression of joy and coexistence for children, young and families.

United Network of Young Peacebuilders, The Netherlands

To mark the September 21International Day of Peace, UNOY Peacebuilders was present at the 'Seeds of Change Festival' in Rotterdam. Here, a diversity of Non Governmental Organisations gathered in order to inform the public and those active in the NGO arena about their organisations and the campaigns for which they work for. UNOY Peacebuilders gave youth and adults the opportunity to make a statement by leaving a 'Message of Peace'. In addition, the advocacy team of UNOY Peacebuilders also gave passers by the chance to make their own multi coloured 'Peace Dove' using origami, whilst a member of the team gave instructions. Simultaneously, numerous promotional materials were disseminated which informed people of the 'Violence Against Children and Youth' campaign and other campaigns which UNOY Peacebuilders works actively for.

The Seeds of Change Festival was an excellent opportunity for UNOY Peacebuilders to explain the work which they do and to establish connections with other organisations active in the field of peacebuilding as well as to inform the public about how they can get involved in the work of UNOY Peacebuilders. It was also an opportunity to increase publicity for the African Students Conference and for the numerous trainings UNOY Peacebuilders hosts annually.

Generation Peace Network/Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, The Philippines

Generation Peace Network celebrated the International Day of Peace on the 21st of September. This year's celebration took a different turn when GenPeace represented the Philippines in a regional celebration of the IDP in Siam Reap, Cambodia. The celebration is part of the international youth conference on 'Peace, Justice and Reconciliation.'. The main themes discussed during the 5-day conference range from genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, peace and human rights issues in Guatemala and intercultural exchanges among youths from different countries such as Italy, US and Germany. The GenPeace representatives presented workshops on 'Gun Violence and its effects on the Youth' and 'Youth Peace Initiatives: Promoting the Youth Social Movement in the Philippines'.

The IPD celebration started with a Peace March around Siam Reap. This is the first time young people of Cambodia experienced a peace march since the youth movement in their country is still in its infancy. The Philippine representatives carried the peace flag with the Filipino word for peace which is Kapayapaan. This represents our solidarity with the rest of the world and the principle of 'unity in diversity'. After the march, each country is tasked to plant peace trees to show their commitment to nurturing peace and growing the culture of peace.

Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania

In September, the Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR) organised several events related to the International Day of Peace in Romania. The aims of these events were to inform students from the local community about fundamental concepts, such as peace-conflict-violence (the distinction between the definition of peace as the absence of war and a one that includes also the concepts of structural and cultural peace), as well as about the education institutions that offer programs in this field, to launch questions with the aim of stimulating critical thinking regarding the (non)violent structures in which we develop and in which we exist and the consequences of our and our state's actions. PATRIR also wanted to inform the general public through the media about the International Peace Day as well as to present to the media the concept of peace journalism.

In order to achieve this, PATRIR implemented an information campaign directed towards the local and national press prior to the International Day of Peace. Several papers published on their online edition the paper/kit about peace journalism.

On the day itself, PATRIR organised at the office a film evening with Peace One Day, followed by discussions. On 22-26 September PATRIR organised an international training course entitled 'Designing Peacebuilding Programmes'.

PATRIR also gave school presentations about the significance of the 21st September. The National Volunteer Center Romania and volunteers from Italy were involved in the activities held in schools, offering also information about the ways in which peace is being observed in Italy. These presentations were held in 15 schools, reaching over 180 students, who now have the opportunity to disseminate the information they received and also to share the information they had before in a critical way.

Young Leaders Sierra Leone

Former President of Sierra Leone Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Receiving Peace and Democracy Award.

Former President of Sierra Leone Ahmed Tejan Kabbah Commending Mohamed Sillah Sesay of Young Leaders-Sierra Leone for organizing such a laudable event.

To mark this year's International Day of Peace, Young Leaders - Sierra Leone Network in Collaboration with Democracy Sierra Leone, a coalition of over forty civil societies working towards expanding peace and democratic values including respect for human rights, public accountability and the rule of law in Sierra Leone, presented a fantastic award to Former President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Alhaji Dr Ahmad Aejan Kabbah at the British Council Hall in Freetown for Promoting Peace and Democracy in post war Sierra Leone which was presented to him by the France Ambassador to Sierra Leone.

This is to serve as an inspiration for the current president and ministers to work towards enhancing sustainable peace and development in Sierra Leone.

Representatives from various national and international organizations and top government officials attended the event.

Somaliland Youth Developement Association, Somalia

SOYDA organized the commemoration ceremony of the International Day of Peace, more than One hundred people participated the celebration which composed, youth groups, government ministers, MPs, Local Councilors, civil society organizations and Community in general. The Vice Minister of Justice officially opened the ceremony and emphasized the role of youth in peace building and social development is very important and that youth must acquire skills to promote peace by transforming the arising conflicts into peaceful means and friendly atmosphere.

The Executive director of SOYDA paid a speech concerning the international day of peace and the primary objectives of the commemoration. The executive pointed out that SOYDA is the only local organization which is a member of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) and organizes such celebration annually to share with local and the international community with pleasure and commemorations and submit the message of the day to the target stakeholders. All the speakers pointed out that peace is the primary means to reach sustainable development and entirely depends upon the availability of equality and justice and that it is important for the youth take a role in promoting peace and obtain skills to transform conflicts in to peaceful means.

The moderator divided the participants into groups and distributed flip charts to discuss about the critical issues currently encountering the peace and stability and ultimately produced the below mentioned declaration that consist of six articles highlighting the overall internally existing issues.

To create awareness raising on peace and security among young population. Since the promoting of peace is the primary goal of peace builders and lovers, the participants proposed to train the youth and provide the necessary tools to develop culture of peace and conflict resolution. The participants recommended that it's the time for action to resolve the increasing conflict in the horn of Africa.
To include the national school curriculum with a courses about the peace building and conflict resolution techniques that can surely equip the school children with the importance of peace and train them the best way to manage conflicts as it arises.
To reduce the widespread unemployment rate in the country and create job opportunities in order to prevent conflict and crises which can disturb peace and stability.
To find a common justice and be equal before the law. The participants demanded all the citizens be equal and find their basic rights enshrined in the national constitution and see human rights instruments be respected and freedom of all is realized as to sustain the peace.
To prevent the usage of drugs by all its forms as drug handling can directly affect the peace and contribute to a national insecurity.
To help support the street children who desperately need both financial and moral support by providing them educational opportunity and health care facilities and also by reintegrating them to their families. It was unanimously agreed that street children are increasing tremendously and are the major contributors to the children conflict with the law which can disturb the peace.

Lastly, the ceremony was officially closed by the chairperson of SOYDA Miss Faiza Aw Ali and thanked to the participants for their attendance and sent congratulatory message on the day of peace to all peace lovers and the community.