“Peace is not found, it is built. Brick by brutal brick, with hands that once knew how to fight but now choose to hold instead,” said Nigerian poet and peace activist Maryam Bukar Hassan, also known as “Alhanislam”, at her debut as the UN’s newest Global Advocate for Peace on 27 July at New York’s SummerStage music festival.
Ms. Hassan delivered her moving spoken word performance, “Peace is a Verb” to a Central Park crowd of over 3,000, blending personal storytelling with a powerful call for peace.
She featured alongside prominent African musicians including Cape Verde’s Elida Almeida and Nigeria’s Femi Kuti.
From the stage, the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, highlighted the importance of young African voices in peacebuilding, especially those of women.
“Working for peace requires all hearts, minds and hands working together,” Ms. Pobee said. “We need everyone on board.”
“Maryam embodies the spirit and promise of the continent. We are proud she has agreed to lend her voice to the UN,” she added.
Maryam Bukar Hassan’s first public engagement in this role followed her official designation on Friday, when she received public accolades and an official certificate from Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming and the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa on behalf of the Peace and Security pillar of the UN.
Over the next two years, she will raise awareness of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas, peacebuilding, and peacekeeping.
She will use her unique voice and creativity to engage new audiences that go beyond traditional UN formats.
The Global Advocate for Peace’s presence at Summerstage was made possible through the support of the Governments of Canada and Denmark to UN Peacekeeping’s strategic communications on the WPS agenda.
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