Tomorrow, September the 21st, is Peace One Day. There is a local celebration here in Charleston, and there are also events planned for all over the world.
Jeremy Gilley, a British journalist, birthed Peace One Day in 1999. He set out to document efforts to create an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence with a fixed calendar date and spent two years traveling the world to make this happen. In 2001, Peace One Day achieved its primary objective. United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/Res/55/282) was unanimously adopted by UN member states, formally establishing an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace, fixed in the global calendar on 21 September-Peace Day. POD is a non-profit organization, impartial and independent of any government, political persuasion, corporation or religious creed. International Peace One Day information is available at www.peaceoneday.org. On a global scale, in 2007, on 21 September, 27.6 million people from 200 countries did something for Peace Day. In 2007, according to the UN, over 100 million people were active on Peace Day, in 192 countries. There were life-saving initiatives in 14 countries, and over 80 activities in Afghanistan alone where 1.4 million children were vaccinated against polio.
Peace is not just an idea, it’s a possibility. It starts with where we live, it starts with one day. Visit the Charleston site at http://www.bepeaceful.org!
