Ecuador: Rumiñahui for a Culture of Peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Associación de Municipalidades Ecuadorianas

“Peace is not written with letters of blood, but with intelligence and heart,” is a phrase of reflection written on one of the many posters on the stands at the first “Nonviolent Initiatives Fair” held in the city of Rumiñahui on the initiative of the municipality of the town, on October 14, 2017.

The director of Citizen Participation of the municipal government, Angela Figueroa, thanked the inhabitants and the different entities for welcoming this initiative, which was born from hard work, from the grassroots of the community, little by little a culture of non-violence for the whole canton.

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Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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The Municipal Band of Rumiñahui, the Orquesta Patrulla 12, the Los Kitus Group and other artists were among those who participated in the event, which began at 10:00 am on boulevard Santa Clara.

The campaign was joined by the football team that is vice-champion of America, Independiente del Valle, Ambassador for Peace since 2016. Managers, coaches and players will join on October 18 during the match between Independiente and Delfin, corresponding to the National Football Championship, to send a message of peace to the country from the stadium of Rumiñahui Stadium.

This program was carried out within the framework of the national campaign “October for Peace and Nonviolence”, which calls on public and private companies, local governments and NGOs to raise the awareness of the community about respect for human rights.

The Municipality held the event for the second consecutive year with the promotion of activities including a cinema forum, assemblies, conversations and cultural caravans with themes of peace.

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)