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Activities at UN Headquarters in New York: |
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 Activities scheduled on 17 September: Student Conference |
Mrs. Nane Annan will headline the 7th annual student observance for the International Day of Peace alongside the SRSG for Sports, Development and Peace Adolf Ogi, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Johann Koss and UN Messenger of Peace Anna Cataldi. The global video conference event that will take place in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium on Friday, 17 September from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. will focus on Peace through Sports. Over 150 North American youths at UN Headquarters will be video linked with athletes and youths in Afghanistan, Greece, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. The event, which will be opened by USG Shashi Tharoor, will conclude with the traditional flag-raising ceremony in which youths at Headquarters and those at UN peace and peacekeeping missions raise the flags of all 191 UN Member States and extend to each other a wish for peace.
[Video of the Student Conference (2h40) - More information]
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“A Fair Globalization: Implementing the United Nations Millennium Declaration” - 20 September |
16 September 2004 – In the most significant attempt yet to shift international debate on globalization from confrontation to dialogue, world leaders from north and south will meet Monday at United Nations Headquarters in New York to launch a new global discussion on the vital role of fairness in ensuring peace, prosperity and security for all. Full story >>
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Activities scheduled on 21 September: |
Three United Nations Messengers of Peace, Muhammad Ali, Anna Cataldi and Jane Goodall will join the Secretary-General in the Peace Bell ceremony held annually as part of
the observance of the International Day of Peace. Following the Peace Bell ceremony, the three Messengers of Peace are expected to attend the morning session of the General Assembly's General Debate. The ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the Japanese Garden at UN Headquarters. Also in observance of the International Day of Peace, another Messenger of Peace, Vijay Amritraj, will participate in a number of events being organized by UNIC New Delhi to help focus attention on the Day.
The History Channel is rebroadcasting the Public Service Announcements featuring Muhammad Ali and Luciano Pavarotti to promote the International Day of Peace. The PSAs were co-produced by the United Nations and the History Channel last year and were broadcast in more than 70 countries.
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Activities at United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) |
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KENYA: |
UNIC-Nairobi
International Day of Peace
21 September 2004
This year’s theme for the International Day of Peace, “Peace Through Sport”, is a primer for
the International Year for Sports and Physical Education 2005.
UNIC Nairobi has proposed to organize a special celebration in Kakuma Refugee Camp, in collaboration
with other UN agencies in Kenya. Participating UN entities include: UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and UNEP
(Others may join in).
The main idea is to bring together a delegation of prominent Kenyan runners, led by National Olympic
Committee Chairman Mr. Kipchoge arap Keino, a multiple Gold medal winer himself. The delegation will
include inter alia:
Paul Tergat (a spokesperson for WFP) ; Catherine Ndereba (a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF) and Nancy Jebet Lagat; and the three Kenyan athletes, namely Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele, who obtained the three medals in the 3000 steeplechase during the Olympic Games in Athens.
The delegation will take a special flight (45 seater), together with a group of dignitaries and international and local media in the early morning of 21 September to Kakuma refugee camp --which hosts both Sudanese and Somali refugees.
Locally, UNHCR will coordinate the organization of three events involving the athletes –in close coordination with WFP and UNICEF and with the involvement of the Turkana host community. This will include:
a short run through the camp for the children, led by Paul Tergat; a run/walk for women and adolescent girls, led by Catherine Ndereba and Nancy Jebet Lagat; a race around a makeshift steeplechase track for male adolescents and adults, possibly led Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele.
The runs will be followed by a ceremony in the camp, with an opportunity to have an exchange on the Day’s theme. Possible speakers, who will be asked to elaborate on the Day’s theme, include:
a UN official to read (the Secretary-General’s message); the local MP; a representative of the athletes; a representative of the refugees; and others to be determined.
UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and UNEP will make available t-shirts for the participants to the run. Donations of
basket balls and soccer balls are also being considered.
Refugees will be invited ahead of the Day to prepare Doves of Peace to be flown during the event. The
Doves were the brainchild of Jane Goodall, a UN Messenger of Peace, and have been endorsed by the
United Nations as a way to express that “Peace is possible’; The Giant Peace Dove puppets – flown
by young people and the young at heart in cities, towns, and villages near and far – are a symbol and
celebration of this yearning for peace.
For more information, including how to prepare the Doves, please see:
http://www.janegoodall.org/peace-day/index.asp
Interviews with the Kenyan and international media will be conducted before the party returns to N
airobi in the mid afternoon, allowing the journalists to transmit reports for the evening news.
Kenyan Dignitaries invited include:
the Minister for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services Hon. Ochilo Ayacko; the Minister of State for Home Affairs Hon. Linah Jebii Kilimo; the Kenyan Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan Lt General Lazarus Sumbeiywo; and the Kenyan Special Envoy for Peace in Somalia, Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat.
UN officials invited include:
the Secretary-General’s Representative for Somalia Mr. Winston Tubman; the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mr. Maxwell Gaylard and for Southern Sudan; and all Heads of UN Agencies accredited in Kenya.
The programme will unfold as follows:
07:30: Departure from Nairobi airport
09:00: Arrival in Kakuma / Refreshments served
09:30: Run with the children
10:00: Run/Walk with women and adolescent girls
10:30: Race with with men
11:15: Ceremony and speeches
12:30: Lunch
16:00: Departure from Kakuma
17:30: Arrival in Nairobi
Photos taken during the International Day of Peace at the Kakuma refugee camp
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PAKISTAN: |
UNIC-Islamabad
International Day of Peace
16 September 2004
The recording of video of a discussion by children from seven Pakistani,
International and French schools took place at the Children's Park in
Islamabad on 16 September 2004. This was an event organised jointly by
UNIC and Geo Television which belongs to the largest media group in
Pakistan. The programme in two parts in Urdu will be broadcast
nationwide on 20 and 21 September 2004. Geo TV will also run the same
programme through its international network.
Over thirty children accompanied by school teachers and parents gathered
in the part to start with drawings on peace and sports, which was
followed by a brief explanation of Peace Day and the UN
Secretary-General's message by the UNIC Director. A discussion mainly
among three children already chosed beforehand was used as introduction
to a free discussion by all participating children.
The two-hour recording of video ended after a walk by the children
carrying placards with messages of peace.
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PERU: |
UNIC-Lima
International Day of Peace
21 September 2004
Working together with the NGO Brahma Kumaris, and the Municipality of Lima, UNIC-Lima will be part
of the First Festival for the International Day of Peace "Images and Voices for Peace" that
will take place on Sunday 26, September, in one of the main parks of Lima. The purpose is to
sensitize the Peruvian citizens to assume their personal responsibility in the generation of a
peaceful society.
The festival will be open for everybody.
The activities will include photography, paint, collage, sculpture, live sculpture, music, theater,
dances, marionettes, tales. All around peace. During the opening ceremony, NIO will read the
Secretary-General's message on the day. Besides, it will be printed to distribute it among all
those who assist. Some hundreds, at least, are expected.
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TANZANIA: |
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UNIC-Dar es Salaam
International Day of Peace
21-24 September 2004
UNIC Dar es Salaam, in collaboration with UNICEF, youth and faith-based organizations, has organized the commemoration of International Day of Peace on 21 September from 0900 at Mnazi Mmoja Grounds in the city. Youths out-of-school and in school, secondary and primary school children are expected to participate in the commemoration.
They started organizing the Day well before we got the International theme, so we have a local theme, "The Role of Youths in Peace-building". The slogan of the Day will be "Let Peace Begin With Me".
The youth will express their views through songs, poems and drama on how they can be active participants in peace issues in the country and the Great Lakes Region. We took into consideration the role that Tanzania is playing in peace initiatives in the Region and expect to involve refugee youths from Western Tanzania to also participate in the activities of the Day.
The programme of the Day will start with a procession where we will fly peace doves. Religious leaders from various denominations in Tanzania will lead the commemoration with prayers of peace. The programme will also include the presentation of the Secretary-General's statement by the UNICEF Representative and a statement from the Government.
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Activities at Peace-building Missions: |
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TAJIKISTAN: |
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In cooperation with the UN Country Team, the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (UNTOP) has developed a program of events for 21-24 September celebrating the International Day of Peace. To be held at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University in Dushanbe, the program highlights the achievements of the Tajik peace process as well as the activities of the UN in country and worldwide. The initiative has received the strong support of individual UN agencies in Tajikistan, and will be a common endeavor.
Representatives of the Tajik Presidential Administration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, university community, diplomatic corps, and UN Country Team will open the program. Mr. Vladimir Sotirov,
Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, and
Head of UNTOP, will give a speech emphasizing UN efforts to promote peace in a changing world. Three days of roundtable discussions will follow, each sponsored by individual UN agencies and highlighting their work in the sphere of peace-building and development in Tajikistan. A public exhibition covering the work of the UN Country Team will run for the duration of the program at the University. UNTOP welcomes the theme "Peace through sports" chosen by the Department of Public Information, and have planned a football match between students and UN personnel, chess match, and quiz contest on facts about the United Nations. Participants will include students, the Tajik NGO community, journalists, and representatives of civil society.
UNTOP is facilitating the publication of articles on individual UN agencies in the local press and feature interviews with the UN Resident Representative and Mr. Vladimir Sotirov. The national television station will cover the opening and subsequent roundtable sessions on the UN. UNTOP seeks to make sure that the message of General Assembly resolution 58/282 reaches the widest audience possible, and will promote the publication of information materials that become available closer to the Day.
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ENVIRONMENT:
Children Plant Some Seeds of Hope
Linus Atarah
It was a new kind of dawn for some children around the world Tuesday. |
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HELSINKI, Sep 21 (IPS) - It began with children planting trees in New Zealand. Other children in 50 countries followed them as the day came their way, ending in Hawaii.
Only about 150 children in all, marking the United Nations International Day for Peace. But this little global event spoke louder than many speeches. "A very special event in 24 hours," the organisers said.
The children were linked through Finland-based Environment Online (ENO) that works to strengthen environmental awareness and international solidarity among school children around the world.
"The tree is a symbol for us," the kids said in a press statement here. "First it reminds us of nature and the importance of the environment, and also symbolises our cooperation between schools around the world. We hope this tree to grow with us in the future and for the future."
Havukallio School in Vantaa city in Finland is among those that joined in. Children from age six to 12 together with their teachers planted a birch, the national tree. Two planted it, others read out statements.
"I wish that there were no wars, because innocent people get killed," said Noora, 11. "I wish there were no wars, terrorists and kidnappers," said Tino. Memories of Beslan hovered over the ceremony.
Such globally linked ceremonies came from the efforts of Mika Vanhanen, a teacher in Joensuu city in eastern Finland who set up ENO four years ago.
"I began this project with a handful of schools," Vanhanen told IPS in a phone interview. "But now the project can boast of 181 schools in 68 countries in all five continents." He could hardly hide his delight with this success.
It is far more effective for the young to speak among themselves, he said. "That way they become ambassadors in their local communities to spread the word on issues that affect them."
Vahanen said he had always wanted to promote something like this. "I have been concerned with environmental issues all my life and it suddenly occurred to me that using the Internet as a platform to mobilise young people around the world was innovative."
Schools in the ENO project hold weekly courses on the environment. About 7,000 students and 700 teachers access them. Children also talk about environmental experiences through chats and email.
Children learnt through an ENO survey, for instance, that 85 percent of children in Kazakhstan felt they could not influence an end to global warming, while most Finnish kids thought they could.
Vanhanen is inundated with requests from schools around the world keen to join. But he says he is hampered by lack of funds.
The Finnish environment ministry, the ministry for foreign affairs and the Joensuu administration provide some funding for ENO but he says this is insufficient.
"As they say, a prophet has no recognition in his own land," he said. "So even though I may have the world in my hands, it doesn't convince the decision-makers. Everyone says it is a superb project but as soon as talk of money enters the equation, people turn their faces away.
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