On September 11, URI and PBS39, a community-owned public television station serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey hosted a special September 11 Commemoration. This event was part of the Grand Opening of the new PBS39 Media & Public Information Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
Our honored guest speaker was Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, responsible for the most vulnerable countries of the world from 2002-2007 and an international ambassador for the Culture of Peace. Musicians Jackie Tice and Robbi Kumalo performed. Both Jackie and Robbi are singer/songwriters and peace advocates who tour extensively and were recently featured at Musikfest 2011.
The event featured the World Peace Flag Ceremony, where flags from every nation are used in an interactive global celebration of the oneness of life and the human family. With united hearts and minds, participants of the Ceremony are invited to invoke prayers for peace to prevail in the countries and regions of the world. It is a moving ceremonial ritual rising above national boundaries, religion and ideologies giving expression to the universal wish for peace and harmony which lies at the core of every human heart.
The Ceremony featured the dedication of the Peace Pole to be permanently planted in front of the PBS39 facility at SteelStacks. This Peace Pole holds the prayer, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages that represent the ethnicity and diversity of the Lehigh Valley. Local Religious leaders will add their prayers for peace to dedicate this SteelStacks Peace Pole. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in nearly every country on Earth.
This Peace Pole dedication is part of a global campaign for “11 Days of Global Unity” marking the tenth anniversary of the tragic events surrounding September 11, 2001 and encouraging increased participation in the United Nations International Day of Peace, September 21. Each of the 11 days from September 11 to September 21 has a theme—such as Human Rights, Freedom, Interdependence, and Unity—which call forth the values, spirit and service needed to move the world toward a culture of peace.
Partners in this event are: NAACP- Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton Chapters, Lehigh-Pocono Committee of Concern (LEPOCO), Bethlehem Area School District, YWCA Bethlehem, ArtsQuest, and We, The World.
