PEACE DAY 2014 THE SPECIAL ISSUE
Issue 9 September 2014
CONTENTS
taking action for peace 4
Meet the team
Get to know the organizers
6
Meet Sandra A look back at the confernce & the challenges the team faced
8
Going worldwide See who joined the movement
6 Reports from all over the world Hear from the organizers world wide why Peace matters to them 30
Are you ready for 2015 Of course we will also be active next year - be prepared and take action as soon as you can!
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all about peace day Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
What is Peace one Day? Jeremy Gilley is an actor turned filmmaker, who in the late 1990s became preoccupied with questions about the fundamental nature of humanity and the issue of peace. He decided to explore these through the medium of film, and specifically, to create a documentary following his campaign to establish an annual day of ceasefire and non-violence. In 1999, Jeremy founded Peace One Day, a non-profit organisation, and in 2001 Peace One Day’s efforts were rewarded when the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on 21 September – Peace Day. Throughout the years, millions of people have been active on Peace Day in every country of the world, and hundreds of organisations have carried out life-saving activities in areas of conflict. Peace One Day’s Campaigns and activities in Education, Music, Film, Sport, Dance, Art and Online have proved that the day works. Inspired by a 70% recorded reduction in violent incidents on Peace Day in Afghanistan (source: United Nations Department of Safety and Security), and in order to build a strong foundation for 2012, Jeremy launched the Global Truce campaign that involved the creation of a series of Peace One Day coalitions, each with a lead partner: the NGO Coalition; the ‘Reducing Domestic Violence’ Coalition; the Student Coalition; and the Schools’ Network.
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THe peacemakers - meet the team we aked them why they got involved and why they believe Peace one day is important I believe peace is necessary for progress, respect of human rights and happiness. In developed countries like the UK, we have the chance to enjoy peace. Unfortunately this is not the case for many of our human fellows in several countries, notably in Africa, The Middle East, Eastern Europe, etc. Peace should become widespread to the entire world. I dream of a day when peace will be prevalent and war will only be mentioned in history books. This will happen one day, it might take time but it will happen. JCI London‘s involvement to raise awareness about peace and Peace One Day is our modest contribution to the advancement of this ideal! May everybody on earth live in peace and let‘s all work toward that worthwhile goal! - Rafael I joined the Peace Day team because I wanted to continue the Peace Day effort from 2013, I loved being involved last year and felt that we could repeat the project in a bigger and better format, in 2014. fingers crossed that we do :-) - Matt
Having grown up in post world war era, I think a lot of people (including myself) are quite ignorant about war and what we can do about it. In fact, conflicts at home or at work are like little war zones around us and we always have a choice who we want to make peace with. Peace to me is not about having one voice for all but allowing different voices with mutual respect. By involving in this project, I hope I can raise the awareness of peace day and bring more people to make peace around them. - Winnie
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December 2013 I have first heard of JCI from a dear friend Ko Barclay. Peace Day Project instantly caught my eye and I decided to commit my time and energy to help event organizers to make it happen for a second year. I have always been very passionate about justice, Human Rights and peace in the world. I cannot begin to describe how insanely powerful Peace day event is and benefits it is bringing not only to me, as an organizer, but also to people who will be attending the event. Our today‘s society is very egoistical and sometimes it forgets what is truly important. Therefore, It is truly refreshing to be a part of. something bigger than yourself. - Egle Peace one day project helps to raise awareness about current affairs and reminds that we all need to take a step forward towards peace. Every single one of us can contribute to finding solutions to major conflicts. We have power in our hands, we have media, we can access all sorts of information, we can make decisions and spread the right message that would help to make a ceasefire in all countries for good. This is a long way, but with POD we have the ability to save lives, protect the vulnerable and the more people join this project the bigger power we have against fighting structures. Let‘s start from where we stand right here, right now. - Ilona JCI London Issue 9 September 2014 5
MEET SANDRA one of the organizers talk about the challenges and the expectations As a conference organiser, I was optimistic about this year’s Peace Day. Having organised the 2013 edition, and played a part in helping bring off the ground TEDXSQUARE Mile 2013, I felt positive about putting together this year’s conference and drawing a bigger crowd to our event. 2 words were on my mind: bigger and better. Our biggest challenge as a team was spreading the word about both the flashmob and the conference. It was a team effort that enabled us to increase our audience to over 100 attendees.
Last but not least, it is also incredibly thrilling to think that over 30 JCI chapters around the world have participated. I really look forward to next year’s events.
Facts about Sandra writen by the team: - she organized Peace Day 2013 & 2014 and did an awesome job always pushing forward - she brought in the speakers and made sure everything ran smoothly during the event - she is very good at organizing and concentrating on important little things others might overlook
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going worldwide this year we made a big leap with over 25 chapters joining the flashmob
Here is the latest list of countries that participated: Africa & Middle East (9) Botswana, Ghana, Jordan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia. Americas (3) Aruba, Canada, Ecuador Asia-Pacific (8) Bangladesh, Hong-Kong, India, Maldives, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka Europe (9) Belgium, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom JCI London Issue 9 September 2014 9
All around the world
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JCI Rabat
Find their video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lehNO8mXliI JCI London Issue 9 September 2014 11
WHO WILL YOU MAKE PEACE WITH?
And other questions that we asked the participants of Peace Day 2014 everywhere
JCI Monastir Tunisia
1.) Why does Peace matter? Today, peace becomes the rare coin in community, we make effort to have a minimum of peace. Wars are everywhere, revolutions too. Everyone seeks stability, tranquility. A single entity can not guarantee peace so you have to move en bloc to create a greater impact 2.) Why did you participate in the JCI flashmob? Make a flashmob in full public can encourage and educate presents on the importance of peace. Freedom of expression is a good indicator of sense of comfort and relief without fear and thought back. Flashmob expression affects the concept of crowd movement and snowball where peace information is transferred quickly. 3.) Who will you make peace with? Peace will be achieved in the smallest entity of our community to the most grande.On will start our association JCI Monastir, then with other associations, and schools and universities until reaching impact on all civil society
JCI AUB in Lebanon
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JCI Philippines
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JCI Syria
Sarah Takieddine (Syria) 1.) Why does Peace matter? Peace matters because. Want to leave a better community for tomorrow’s generation. Peace is important because it means I can live my life without fear, and without fear for my life. 2.) Why did you participate in the JCI flashmob? I participated in the flash mob to promote peace through true world from a war zone.. Peace is a dream and we can’t loose hope 3.) Who will you make peace with I will make peace with those who don’t even believe in peace .. I will continue to promote peace!
JCI Beirut
Houssam Bajouk (Beirut) 1.) Why does Peace matter? Peace is the serenity in which a human’s mind functions best, when peace is attained the human being is in the most efficient form since he is able to process any issue logically, fairly, amd with respect to all who might be affected to make sure he is just. The answer to why is as obvious as can be, the comunities nowadays have access to everyone around the globe practically, and with enough research you can get the truth of any society you like. Our job as citizens of any country is to be the best possible delegates to present the real society we are, its about time stereotypes and prejudgements are abolished and thats where we young active citizens come in. The flashmob might not seem like much but we where able to draw a smile on many faces in public, and its a chance to show tbe world in collaboration with all jci branches that cooperated how we are all one people, whether you are arab like myself or english or spannish of american or french or italian or nigirian or mexican or any nationality wirh respect to all, we all want to live and enjoy life, and admitting we are all one is the easiest way to reach peace which is practically happiness. 2.) Who will you make peace with Every human being who is ready to respect the trust, live fair, and share equally the treasures of the world to live in true peace with each other and get over the greedy part of the human that has proven to be the main reason to many of our differences.
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JCI Gerogia
JCI Lesotho Teboho Nchaki (Lesotho)
1.) Why does Peace matter? It matter because it is a pillar for social development and economic growth of nations, peaceful nations contribute to humarolitarian activity and social behaviour. we participated to to promote togetherness in our country and to the world, we wante to show our people that together we can achieve more and that the paeceful citizen can cintribute to national development. i will start to make peace with me, my family and to the community i am living in, the will extend to the whole village and to my country.
JCI Cyprus
Ifigenia Mavromati (Cyprus) 1.) Why does Peace matter? Peace matters to all as it affects us in different aspects of our life. Living peacefully means we can feel safe with no fear for tomorrow, be free, be happier, respect each other and therefore create a better world for us and the generations that will follow. 2.) Why did you participate in the JCI flashmob? Everyone should act in order to bring a positive and sustainable change. Participating in the JCI flashmob is an act to raise awareness about the importance of peace. Living in a peaceful community is highly important for a country, like ours, that is half occupied. No human being should witness the cruelty of war and violence especially now with all the recent tragic incidents and unrest that happens around the world. Therefore celebrating and promoting the International Day of Peace and supporting the cause of ‘Peace One Day’ through this flashmob, is one step closer in raising awareness about peace and show that united we can make an impact in the world. No matter how small or big the impact is, this flashmob brought out smiles and happy emotions, showing that for at least one day we can all put our differences aside and celebrate together. 3.) Who will you make peace with I will make peace with everyone around me. Embrace peace and show in every possible way that peace matters.
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JCI YALA - Aruba
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JCI Ulaanbaatar
(Mongolia)
JCI Nicosia Their flashmob video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG8FNFUA4j4&feature=youtu.be Ifigenia Mavrommati (Cyprus) 1.) Why does Peace matter? Peace matters to all as it affects us in different aspects of our life. Living peacefully means we can feel safe with no fear for tomorrow, be free, be happier, respect each other and therefore create a better world for us and the generations that will follow. 2.) Why did you participate in the JCI flashmob? Everyone should act in order to bring a positive and sustainable change. Participating in the JCI flashmob is an act to raise awareness about the importance of peace. Living in a peaceful community is highly important for a country, like ours, that is half occupied. No human being should witness the cruelty of war and violence especially now with all the recent tragic incidents and unrest that happens around the world. Therefore celebrating and promoting the International Day of Peace and supporting the cause of ‘Peace One Day’ through this flashmob, is one step closer in raising awareness about peace and show that united we can make an impact in the world. No matter how small or big the impact is, this flashmob brought out smiles and happy emotions, showing that for at least one day we can all put our differences aside and celebrate together 3.) Who will you make peace with I will make peace with everyone around me. Embrace peace and show in every possible way that peace matters.
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JCI Brussels
JCI Lesotho
JCI Hong Kong
JCI Ambato
JCI Lisboa
JCI Dublin
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JCI Tunesia Mehdi Halila (Tunesia)
1.) Why does Peace matter? Today, peace becomes the rare coin in community, we make effort to have a minimum of peace. Wars are everywhere, revolutions too. Everyone seeks stability, tranquility. A single entity can not guarantee peace so you have to move en bloc to create a greater impact. 2.) Why did you participate in the JCI flashmob? Make a flashmob in full public can encourage and educate presents on the importance of peace. Freedom of expression is a good indicator of sense of comfort and relief without fear and thought back. Flashmob expression affects the concept of crowd movement and snowball where peace information is transferred quickly. 3.) Who will you make peace with Peace will be achieved in the smallest entity of our community to the most grande.On will start our association JCI Monastir, then with other associations, and schools and universities until reaching impact on all civil society.
JCI Kazakhstan
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JCI Guinea
JCI Mauritius
JCI Jordan
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JCI Jakarta
JCI Turkey
JCI Santo Domingo
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3...2...1 ...GO JCI London is getting ready - are you? Your chance to be part of the global movement! Get in touch with Rafael to know more - rafaelt@jcilondon.org.uk
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