The World
Needs Peace Not War
BY GULRUKH RAEES
"Peace begins with a smile."
Mother Teresa
World Peace Day
is observed annually on 21st September. It is dedicated to world
peace, and specifically to the absence of war and violence. The day was first
celebrated in 1982, and since then it has been kept by many nations, political
groups, military groups, and peoples.
The United
Nations Peace bell is rung in UN headquarters in New York City to inaugurate
the day. The bell is cast with coins and these coins are donated from all the continents
except Africa. This is considered as a gift from United Nations Associations of
Japan. It is taken as a reminder of the human cost of war. There is an
inscription on it that reads “Long Live Absolute World Peace.”
In 2013, for the first time, the Day was
dedicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to peace education. A
global campaign by the name of Armed with the Arts was announced in May 2013 to
increase public awareness and promote the culture of peace. The purpose of this
campaign is to inculcate in young minds through peace education the importance
of world peace and the negative impact war and violence can have on the world
at large. Peace Crane Project is the name given to it and Gorey Community
School in Co. Wexford, Ireland, has been chosen to be School of Peace for 2013.
International Peace Day was also celebrated in
Pakistan as in other parts of the world. The Global System of Integrated
Studies (GSIS), in collaboration with Basic Human Rights, an international NGO,
organized a function on International Peace Day. The ceremony took place simultaneously in Bradford
(UK) at the Bradford Grammar School and GSIS, Islamabad. Two minutes silence
was observed at GSIS and Bradford School simultaneously for the prevalence of
peace in the world.
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