April 21, 2009

Dear Culture of Peace Initiative Participants (CPI),

Thank you for your participation in the Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) and for your inspiring work as forerunners in the emerging field of Peacebuilding. We are living in extraordinary times, with the potential for positive change and you are helping to make it happen! Many people around the world are observing phenomenal acts of global unity in the name of peace and social transformation. The Internet is serving humanity by linking Peacebuilders around the world forming new and powerful cooperative networks.

The Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) website is designed to bring to light the often unrecognized Peacebuilders and their organizations and programs. This  upgraded website fosters co-operation, wherein you will find  people and organizations to share ideas, resources, Peace Practices and mutually-supportive activities throughout the year.:

You can connect with the Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) online and work with your CPI community in many ways:

If you haven’t already, please join the Culture of Peace Initiative group where CPI is initiating global conversations about Peace.  A space has been created where you can post personal profiles, let the world know about your Peacebuilding work, and befriend fellow CPI Participants.  CPI has joined the newest Internet phenomenon:  Twitter!  Our profile is PeaceDaySept21 .  Let us know if you are a CPI Participant.   Twitter is another interactive way to spread the word about Peacebuilders everywhere, instantaneously.

International Day of Peace 2008 CPI Report
CPI has created a very useful tool to document the annual worldwide International Day of Peace observations with an event calendar that that can be updated to add photos, videos, text and the number of people  who attended your event. A comprehensive CPI Report will be forwarded to the United Nations and made available to all participants on the dedicated CPI website. Please share with the global peace community about your 2008 Peace Day events.  The CPI site is linked to the International Day of Peace website. Those who posted events for the 2008 Peace Day will be included in these mailings to keep you informed about the 2009 International day of Peace.

Posting Events year round: CPI participants can also post events that happen anytime during the year.  This will help promote and document your event.

If you are on Facebook, we ask you to support the International Day of Peace page .  Please leave a comment on our wall or feel free to start a discussion with other Peacebuilders.  As of today, we have more than 1,800 supporters.

View the latest video at www.cultureofpeace.org.  Millions of people have already viewed it, and it’s easy to see why: in 1992, a young woman named Severn Suzuki spoke movingly at the UN Earth Summit about the need to focus our attention and energies on the world we share, and to work gracefully with all its inhabitants.  She cut to the heart of the matter in the way that sometimes only a younger person can, and her words continue to inspire us today.

Thank you, CPI Participants, for your dedication to building a culture of Peace for future generations on Peace Day and every day.

CPI Coordinator Michael Johnson, CPI Outreach Intern - Michael Kwan
Pathways To Peace is the International Secretariat for the Culture of Peace Initiative