Peace = Future: The Math Is Easy

by Meredith Slater · 2010-09-08 07:26:00 +0100
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Each year, the International Day of Peace is marked on September 21. Established in 1981, the Day of Peace is a global call for non-violence in which the entire UN system, along with individuals, groups and organizations from around the world, engage in activities that promote ceasefires, help bridge cultural divides, and encourage tolerance.

This year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called specifically on young people to take a stand for peace. Under the theme Youth for Peace and Development, he recognized the world's youth as the most incredible potential our global society has for achieving peace. With the campaign slogan, Peace=Future, The Math is Easy, the UN started a search for stories from young people around the world working toward peace. And what it got in return was inspiring.

Below are just two of the many stories contributed by youth working toward peace. The first proves just how powerful kids can be when they come together to work toward a goal, and the second shows the impact that just one young child can have on the world.

Determined to make the daily headlines out of Gaza about something other than fighting and hatred, kids in Gaza recently set two new world records. First, over 7,000 young people met at the destroyed airport in Gaza to simultaneously dribble basketballs for five minutes. Then, just a week later, another group of 7,000 came together to fly kites on a beach in northern Gaza at the same time. These kids challenged their leaders, and the world, with two powerful images. It was as if, without using words, they were able to say: if we can cooperate to achieve something great, so can you.

When Sadako Sasaki was 12 years old, she began folding 1,000 paper cranes. In Japan, it is said that folding 1,000 paper cranes grants a person one wish, so Sadako folded in the hope that she would be able to heal her leukemia. After surviving the bombing of Hiroshima, Sadako had developed the "atom bomb disease." Though Sadako died before she was able to complete all 1,000 cranes, her friends completed them for her and the cranes were buried with her. Now a symbol of world peace, UN workers in New York and Japan folded paper cranes in their spare time to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon then presented 1,000 cranes, which had been assembled into a garland, to the Mayor of Hiroshima at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony. Sadako would surely be proud to see what a beautiful impact one little girl could have on this world.

To read more stories of youth working toward peace, or to learn what you can do to promote peace ahead of the International Day of Peace, check out the Day of Peace website.

Photo Credit: United Nations International Day of Peace

Meredith Slater works as a grant writer for organizations such as Friends of the World Food Program and Henry Street Settlement.
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