Did you attend a Peace Day event? If so, please take a few minutes to let us know how it went: http://bit.ly/peaceday_09
Your response will assist our efforts in producing a comprehensive 2009 Peace Day report which will be presented to the UN and published online. We invite your participation.
Thank you Peacebuilders!
May Peace Prevail On Earth!
Unity Foundation, Pathways To Peace, PeacePortal.mobi and Getzooks welcomes you to the PEACE DAY 24-Hour World Peace Celebration and Global Broadcast commemorating the 27th Annual United Nations’ International Day of Peace on September 21, 2009.
[The broadcast can be viewed on PeaceDay2009.org]
This broadcast highlights the vitally important work of the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, as well as organizations and individuals around the world dedicated to creating a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. The broadcast includes Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Peace; as well as interviews with present and former high level UN officials and other world leaders. The broadcast also includes videos of the “UN in Action” and Peace Day events around the planet. See the press release.
Do you want to share this broadcast? You can embed this broadcast on to your website, blog, myspace, etc. for FREE! To add the broadcast to your Facebook profile, click here to download the Livestream application!
This year’s ceremonies at UN Headquarters took place today and will be archived at http://www.un.org/webcast/. The program featured presentations by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other UN dignitaries, as well as UN Messengers of Peace Jane Goodall and Princess Haya of Jordan.
There were performances by a choir from Japan and musicians from the Vermont Peace Academy; films from Yemen and Albania; and large screen video-conferencing with students in Iraq, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sudan. This was followed by a presentation of Pledges for Peace, the Minute of Silence, the Ringing of the Peace Bell, and a Flags of the World Ceremony by the World Peace Prayer Society!
Following is the text of remarks made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the student observance of the International Day of Peace, today, in New York:
Hello, everyone!
It’s a great pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations today and thank you for taking part from all over the United States.
As you know, I just rang the Peace Bell. I think you saw a broadcast of my remarks. These can be summarized in three words: We Must Disarm.
I shared some of the messages that we received on Twitter from people just like you –- maybe even some people right in this room.
I also tweeted some of my own reasons why We Must Disarm:
I sent these messages on Twitter because I want to involve the whole world in the campaign to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Not just political leaders but citizens everywhere -– including students like you. You are the future leaders and owners of this planet Earth.
Seeing you makes me think of my own days as a student. We didn’t have modern technology, such as the Internet or compact phones that could take pictures and videos and download music. Such things seemed like science fiction. Today they are sometimes taken for granted.
In the same way, a nuclear-weapon-free world may seem like a far-off dream, but it is not.
Next week, President [Barack] Obama of the United States will chair a Security Council summit on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Next year, the parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will hold an important Review Conference in the United Nations. The prospects for reducing nuclear arsenals are better than they have been for years, though the road ahead will not be easy.
It may be difficult for you to imagine me growing up in a world with no Internet. I hope that someday, your children will have trouble imagining what it was like to live in a world that could be annihilated at any moment by nuclear weapons.
On this International Day of Peace, let’s pledge to keep pushing, together, for a nuclear-weapon-free world. And I count on your commitment and your leadership as future leaders of this world.
“On this International Day of Peace, I have a simple message for all: We must disarm, we must have peace. I appeal to people throughout the world to join in this effort. Support the United Nations and do your part for peace.” - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
In Afghanistan, UNICEF (UN’s Children Fund ) and UNHCR (UN’s Refugee Agency) are organizing sport events and art contests for youth. UNAMA is holding peace discussions with religious leaders. DIAG (Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups) is organizing ceremonies to hand over weapons. YIAA (Youth in Action Association) is organizing a Peace march! Thousands of youth are expected to participate. In addition, eight radio stations and two TV stations in the eastern region are broadcasting UNAMA produced 30 second PSAs on Peace Day!
And hopefully - many more lives will be saved through a ceasefire which will allow polio vaccinations for children!
9/1/09 - An Afghan youth puts up a poster for International Peace Day during its launching ceremony at the office of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan today. (AP Photo)
Video: 30 second TV spot on Peace Day in Afghanistan
For more on Peace Day in Afghnistan, visit the UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) Peace Day website.