This year's theme for the 2004 International Day of Peace
is "peace through sports." Visit Cyberschoolbus'
2004 International
Day of Peace web site for more information on the Olympic
Truce and other examples of how sports are contributing to
building a more peaceful world. |
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Athens Peace Truce event at Piraeus
Amphitheater
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As the people of Athens celebrate the
return of the Olympic games to its Greek birthplace,
Peace Boat, along with three young Greek "peace
ambassadors", is campaigning for the world to celebrate
the "Ekecheiria," the traditional cease-fire
that warring city-state nations observed during the
ancient Olympics. While the world focuses on the two
weeks of exciting sports competitions, the Olympic Truce
movement has slowly gained momentum to revive the tradition
of declaring peace starting seven days before and ending
seven days after the Olympics. Observed for the Games
for over 1200 years in ancient Greece, it is the longest
lasting peace accord in history. The truce not only
gave athletes safe passage from their homeland to Olympia
and back, but also ensured the safety of artists, musicians
and spectators, effecting all levels of society. |
| In 1992 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and
various civil society groups called on the international
community to once again observe the peace truce. The three
Greek peace ambassadors - youth with an interest in peace
issues - travelling around the world on Peace Boat's 46th
voyage aim to spark the renewal of the Olympic Truce.
To kick off their journey, the trio visited the atomic
bomb cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to share the Olympic
torch of peace and carry away the fire from those cities'
memorial flames. Governments have also recognized the
power of this international event by supporting the peace
truce during the 27th Olympiad in Sydney, Australia. In
November 2003, the UN General Assembly unanimously made
a resolution linking a more peaceful world with sports
and the Olympic ideals. Started by Greece, it was co-sponsored
by all of the represented 190 member-states, a number
unprecedented in UN history. |
Acropolis statues |
Peace Ambassador Vivian Myloni |
Peace Ambassador Vivian Myloni, a doctor of International
Management and cultural researcher, stressed that - as
in ancient times - the actions of all people, not just
the Olympic participants, make the peace truce possible.
"Everything depends on us, on our willingness to
forget about our prejudices, to approach each other in
a friendly spirit and to work for the common good,"
said Myloni. Peace Ambassador Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos,
a painter and comic book artist, admits that in the current
atmosphere the Olympic Truce may seem overly-optimistic,
but that "it was happening for centuries in Greece,
so it's not impossible," he said. |
That sports could effect something as serious as war shows
how non-governmental groups can work together to solve
social problems. Peace Ambassador Eleni Mantratzi, an
Athens lawyer and volunteer for many NGOs, thinks the
Olympics is a good example of people taking action, and
not only waiting for peace to come from their government's
leaders. "The flame is passed hand to hand, citizen
to citizen, it is an opportunity to show that citizen
diplomacy can have real and long term fruit, more than
just politicians, independent of their nationality, religion
or other prejudices," said Mantratzi. |
Peace Ambassador Konstantinos
Papamichalopoulos |
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| Peace Ambassador Eleni
Mantratzi |
Iwao Kunokawa, a participant in Peace Boat's Olympic Truce
event in Viet Nam, thinks the young people of the world
are directly connected to this healthy change. "There's
no reason for the world not to become peaceful if the
energy of young people get together." Kunokawa, also
a Global University student, fully supports the culture
of peace the Olympics offer. "I'm 61 years old, but
I'm still young because I get the power and energy from
them." Holding events in Taiwan, Viet Nam, Singapore,
Sri Lanka, Eritrea and finally Greece, the peace ambassadors
found this same enthusiastic involvement with the Peace
Truce campaign. Taking advantage of this opportunity,
Peace Boat participants and partners exchanged salsa dances
for Taiwanese modern dance, Japanese traditional drumming
for Vietnamese pop and the fire of war for flames of peace.
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| Piraeus peace dancer holding
a flame |
Papamichalopoulos, however, warns that even though the
Olympics represents something positive, we must also be
aware of where things come from. The theme -- From Fires
of War to Flames of Peace -- is especially ironic as the
origin of the Olympic torches was started at the 1936
Munich Olympics under Hitler. "Most people think
it came from some ancient Olympic ritual, but actually
it was something special the then-fascist Greek government
made for the fascist German government," he pointed
out. |
Narae Lee and Iba Farrah read
the peace declaration |
One of the big hopes of the three peace ambassadors
is that leaders and people will see that violent conflicts
can be stopped for sports and begin asking why they can't
be stopped completely through other means. "I strongly
feel that we need something more than policies. Especially
in the last few years its become clear that activities
dealing with culture - such as sports, festivals, concerts
and NGO events - have succeeded more than any than any
political treaty," said Mantratzi. |
| High in an amphitheater overlooking greater Athens,
Peace Boat said goodbye to the three ambassadors and were
welcomed by international peace activists and by the Mayor
of Piraeus, the port city near Athens. The audience of
1000 listened to musical performances by a Greek jazz
band and the Piraeus Philharmonics, followed by Greek,
Japanese and other world dances by participants and a
troupe of students from Piraeus University. The peace
ambassadors, volunteers and International Students onboard
Peace Boat then read a peace declaration, vowing to continue
their efforts to advocate for peace beyond the Olympics
as a shower of fireworks surrounded them. Peace Ambassador
Myloni noted that throughout the 46th voyage she has been
constantly amazed with the change people to people communications
can bring. "It's amazing how easily people who have
never met before can become friends through playing games,
singing and dancing within only 24 hours." |
Fireworks as the peace declaration
is read |
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