September is the month for the International Day of Peace which is celebrated by millions of people everywhere in the world. It provides us with a measure of whether the culture of peace is advancing.
In Africa, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Culture of Peace movement was celebrated on September 21 at Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire by UNESCO, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research, and the Network of Foundations and Research Institutions for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace in Africa. At the same time, many local celebrations took place throughout Africa, exemplified by one reported in CPNN from Zanzibar.
Latin America saw extensive celebrations for peace in September. At the end of the month, Colombia hosted an international conference "Building Peace in the XXI Century" while at the beginning of the month, the civil society of Colombia celebrated a week of peace . In Bolivia, the International Day of Peace was celebrated in Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, El Alto, La Paz, Santa Cruz and Tarija, an effort that was joined by 51 institutions, including the government, municipalities, universities, schools, colleges and NGOs. And of special significance, the states of Michoacan and Zacatecas in Mexico have returned to the Manifesto 2000 for inspiration. During the International Year for a Culture of Peace in the year 2000, 75 million people signed the Manifesto, promising to cultivate a culture of peace in their community.
In the United States, in conjunction with the march of 400,000 people before the United Nations, calling for an agreement to stop global warming, an initiative for nonviolence and a culture of peace has been launched and now includes over 180 organizations.
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At United Nations headquarters, the Secretary-General rang the Peace Bell in the company of peace activists from around the world. Earlier in the month, he spoke at a High Level Forum for the Culture of Peace. The main speaker at the event was Nobel Laureate Linda Gbowee from Liberia.
To give some idea of the scope of celebrations around the world, I see that the listing of recent news articles in Google News includes 2960 for "International Day of Peace" as well as 2300 for "Día internacional de la paz" and 986 for "Journée Internationale de la Paix"
Finally, the Global Alliance for Ministries & Infrastructures for Peace has begun a campaign seeking one billion signatures calling upon the UN and governments worldwide to establish ministries, departments and infrastructures of peace that support the global culture of peace!
In sum, we have seen this month the most impressive mobilization for a culture of peace since the International Year for the Culture of Peace 14 years ago. In other words, we can say with certainty that the culture of peace is advancing.
