On September 21st, the world will come together to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. In our current world where conflict is a harsh reality, this day is not just a date on the calendar, but a reminder of the constant need to work for peace, justice, and healing.
On September 21st, the world will come together to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. In our current world where conflict is a harsh reality, this day is not just a date on the calendar, but a reminder of the constant need to work for peace, justice and healing.
The Power of Global Solidarity
This day celebrates the strength found in global solidarity and highlights the collective effort needed to create a world free from violence. In a time when division often seems to overshadow unity and violence overpowers peace, this day serves as a poignant reminder that we must all work together to create the world we want to see. In the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “True peace requires building bridges, combating discrimination, and standing up for the human rights of all the world's people” (UN News). This focus highlights the interconnectedness of our global community and the shared responsibility we have in promoting peace.
Cultivating Cultures of Peace
The theme for this years’ IDP is ‘Cultivating Cultures of Peace’ - which is the day to day work of the United Religions Initiative as captured in our Purpose Statement.
“The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.”
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres poignantly reminds us in the 100 day countdown message:
"Every year on 21 September, the United Nations invites the world to mark the International Day of Peace. This year’s focus is on 'Cultivating a culture of peace.' In a world mired by conflict, inequalities and discrimination, we must strive ever harder to promote dialogue, empathy, and human rights for all. As we begin the 100-day countdown to Peace Day, let us plant the seeds for non-violence, justice, and hope."
Violence Prevention and Cultivating Cultures of Peace
In these times of unprecedented challenges, where human rights are being violated, where children are victims of conflict, where wars and genocides take place, it is imperative that we turn our attention to how we collectively perceive violence. This 100-day countdown to International Day of Peace is a good start, but it's not enough. We must ask ourselves: why are we allowing violence to take place on any day and at any time when we, as individuals, as community and religious leaders, as NGOs, and as governments, have the power to stop it? We, as individuals, can plant seeds for non-violence every day, in our homes, in our social circles, in our communities.
We need to share holistic and innovative approaches to how we view and address violence and work towards peace. URI has been working toward ending religiously motivated violence and violence of all forms, since its founding almost 25 years ago. Recently, we have adopted a public health approach, among other methodologies and strategies, to counteract the scourge of violence that exists at every level of our society.
A health approach treats violence like a contagious behavior that spreads from individual to individual. Treating violence as one would a contagious disease offers us an antidote—and that antidote is us. We all have influence in our communities, with our friends, and with our peers. We all have the power to change how violence is viewed and to prevent it from occurring before it happens. By understanding violence as a public health issue, with complex intersecting social determinants, we can develop strategies to interrupt its transmission, much like how we would contain a contagious disease.
The Role of Youth in Cultivating Cultures of Peace
Young people are especially important in any conversation about peace and eliminating violence. Young people are often the first victims of violence and are also leading innovative initiatives of violence prevention. Public health principles tell us that when children are exposed to violence, whether it be in the home, at school, or in their communities, they are likely to consider it normal and, in turn, may commit violence themselves. This creates a vicious cycle that has lasting effects for all of us. Conversations about peace and violence prevention must include youth of all ages, as they hold enormous, often untapped, potential and power.
At URI, we celebrate the work and leadership of young people in the network and strive to support the work young people are already doing in their communities to make our world more peaceful.
We’re inspired each day by examples such as these:
- In Nigeria, FACIS CC members are training an interfaith group of young people (majority Christians and Muslims) in rumor detection, to interrupt community rumors that can be triggers of violence. read more here
- In Cape Town, South Africa, members of the Faith Hope Love Communities CC provide meals to their community, as a way of engaging young people in local schools with a message of peace, to interrupt gang violence.
- In Mindanao, Philippines, Pakigdait Inc. CC works tirelessly on peace education programs and stakeholder meetings, led by their young staff members, inviting diverse groups to peace dialogues. read more here
- In Europe, four Cooperation Circles are collaborating on a youth camp entitled ‘Seeding the Peace’ where 40 young people from Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, and the Netherlands will work together on strategies of individual and collective action for protecting our environment through interfaith efforts.
- And coming up in August, URI South India will be leading a Peacebuilding Training Programme with Youth for Peace International CC with a goal of training 100 young people in peacebuilding in the next three years.
All of these examples demonstrate the ways in which the involvement and leadership of young people is building a collective grassroots movement of peace. We have seen in URI how the more young people are involved in decision-making processes the more communities thrive in their collaborative efforts for peace, justice and healing. International Day of Peace is therefore a reminder and invitation to join the movement.
A Call to ActionAll human beings have a right to peace and prosperity, and violence strips that right away from all of us. We champion the message of Secretary-General Guterres in his 100 day countdown (June 13) to the International Day of Peace, and strive to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the Earth and for all living beings. At URI, we aim to change societal norms related to violence and work tirelessly to make peace a reality.
As we count down to the International Day of Peace, let us remember that each day is an opportunity to foster peace, to prevent violence, and to build a world where everyone can live in safety and dignity.
URI offers a number of opportunities for action and impact, and we encourage those who celebrate International Day of Peace to join us in our efforts to build a more peaceful, just, and inclusive world.
In these 100 days, let us commit to being the antidote to violence. Let us work together to ensure that the dream of peace becomes a reality for all.
Some past programming:
- June 20 Violence Prevention Community Call (6 am -8 am PDT): Join us as we co-create the URI Campaign to End Violence, and become part of a growing global network of people who are ready to say “No More Violence” and work to reduce violence globally.
- June 24 Online Workshop, Interrupting Hate Speech and Violence (6 am-9 am PDT): Participate in one of our “Learning in Action” workshops on how to recognize and interrupt hate speech on and offline. This workshop will introduce the basic elements of a public health approach with examples and sharing of experiences across different contexts and invite participants to practice skills of interrupting harmful behaviors in the context of hate speech.
- June 26 URI Anniversary Community Call (6:00 am - 8:00 am PDT): Celebrate with us, as we look back at how far we have come, acknowledge and appreciate where we are now, and envision the next 25 years. A portion of this call will also focus on the launch of a global campaign to end violence for those who are not able to attend the June 20 Community Call.