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International Day of Peace, 21 September 2010

Events at Headquarters

ringing of peace bell

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rings the Peace Bell in observance of the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2007, United Nations, New York. (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)

17 September 2010

The General Assembly has designated 21 September as the annual observance of the International Day of Peace.  As the date this year falls in the middle of the Millennium Development Goals Summit (20-22 September), the observance of the International Day of Peace at UN Headquarters will be held on Friday, 17 September. The IDP will be observed on 21 September away from Headquarters.

Peace Bell Ceremony, Rose Garden, 8:45 a.m.
The traditional Peace Bell ceremony will be held at 8:45 a.m. in the Rose Garden. The Secretary-General will ring the bell. As is customary, Messengers of Peace will participate in the ceremony.

Student Conference, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Secretary-General will welcome more than 600 students to the student conference whose theme this year is Youth, Peace and Development. The event will follow the Secretary-General's ringing of the Peace Bell. Students gathered at UN Headquarters will interact with students at video conference sites on peacekeeping missions, as well as with UN Messengers of Peace (as is the tradition established over the past nine years). The Messengers of Peace will engage with students at Headquarters and across a number of digital platforms, including VTC links.

These events are not open to the public, but will be webcast live on the UN website: www.un.org/webcast

For media inquiries, please contact the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit at: malu@un.org

Peace Day programme

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