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Generation Grand Lacs celebrates Peace Day
an article by Nicolas Gatambi , Search for Common Ground Rwanda (abridged)
Each year, on September 21st, the whole world observes
International Day of Peace. This time all eyes were on Goma, Eastern
DRC, where a big concert, headlined by internationally renowned
artist Akon, marked the peak of celebrations. On that occasion we
produced a special GGL program from Mishapivoice TV/Goma,
streamed live online. The program was co-hosted by Rwandan and
Congolese journalists, and for the first time it was also broadcast on
both radio and TV. 
click on photo to enlarge
As guests in the studio, we received Jeremy Gilley, actor, filmmaker
and founder of Peace One Day; British actor Jude Law; and
Congolese singer Dety Darba.
Listeners called the studio and wrote on our Facebook page, sharing
what Peace Day represents for them, what the challenges to peace
are and what can be done to achieve it in the Great Lakes region.
“We mustn’t just celebrate peace. We need to live peace. What is a
single day of celebrations? We should reflect about peace every day,
and think about those who are hurt”, said Robert from Ruzizi, South
Kivu.
“Peace Day means a lot to me. We have lived for a longtime in
tribalism, war, and conflicts. It is good to celebrate peace”, said
Martin from Gisenyi, Rwanda.
For Jeremy Gilley, the greatest obstacles in the way of peace are
apathy, cynicism, and lack of belief. “Individuals don’t believe that
they can make a difference. They assume that their voices don’t
count and their actions don’t matter. This is a great obstacle to
achieving peace in our times”, he said.
On Facebook, Iradukunda Josine from Kigali said that Peace Day
should inspire in us the courage we need for reconciliation. “When
we invite peace we build the future and the dignity of the country.
Especially us, the youth, must work towards peace”, said Josine.
According to another listener from Kigali, “Our governments must
organize cultural exchanges, so that peace can become a shared
value in our region. We grow up thinking that Congolese or
Rwandans are evil. We feed the hatred, and then there is no real
communication between us. All this must stop”.
For another listener from Bujumbura, “To promote peace in the
Great Lakes we have to eradicate poverty, because where there is
poverty there is war. We also need good mutual understanding
between our leaders; they should not only be interested in power,
but also in what they will do while they are in power “.
Actor Jude Law stressed that “there’s many ways we can spread the
message of peace: film, sports, gatherings… All of these are a
projection of something positive. We have to shed light on positive
actions around the world. We live in an era where, for some reason,
media intensely concentrate their efforts on the negative”.
Mr. Gilley stated that GGL is an important initiative that “sends a
strong message of unity and inspires the youth of the region”. . .
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
How are you celebrating Peace Day?,
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Latest reader comment:
It is difficult to find extensive listings of the many events celebrating the International Day of Peace around the world. An exception is the United Religions Initiative which lists events for the IDP 2014 by their affiliates in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, United States and the Philippines.
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