Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Need for harmony emphasised as World Peace Day observed
Gathered to observe World Peace Day
With an emphasis on promoting harmony and compassion on a global scale, World Peace Day was observed yesterday, with Guyana engaging in several commemorative activities. World Peace Day also known as International Day of Peace is observed annually on September 21.
Among yesterday’s activities locally was a simple ceremony which was spearheaded by the Peace Pilgrim Foundation and the American University of Peace Study, an entity based on Sheriff Street in the city. According to lecturer and member of the Foundation, Mark Constantine, yesterday’s endeavour was geared at promoting the message of peace and the way of peace. The observance was held at City Hall, where a symbolic Peace Pole was planted some years ago by friends of the Peace Pilgrim. The pole which has messages engraved in its sides, urges that persons overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth and hatred with love, all of which are indicative of the way of peace, Constantine insisted.
Yesterday’s ceremony also included participation from two students – Gavin Greenidge, a President’s College sixth former and Anasha Baksh, a fifth former of Saint Stanislaus College. They both shared their views on the significance of World Peace Day and emphasised the need for there to be more sensitisation on the notion of peace in order for there to be a marked difference in society.
The ceremony also saw the attendance of President of the Friends of Peace Pilgrim Foundation, Guyana Chapter, Ms Ayesha McDoom-Singh and Foundation members Ms Marie Stephanie Prasad and Ms N. Perreira. A similar ceremony was also scheduled to be undertaken in the National Park yesterday afternoon where a second Peace Pole was erected.
World Peace Day is dedicated to peace, or specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. The first year this day was observed was in 1981.
To inaugurate the day, the “Peace Bell” is usually rung at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents. It was given as a gift by the Diet of Japan, and is referred to as “a reminder of the human cost of war.” The inscription on its side reads: “Long live absolute world peace.”
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