“Education for Peace!” Celebrating the International Day of Peace

One day, every year entirely dedicated to Peace. It’s a way to discover the true meaning of that word, making peace real and not just a spot of ink on a piece of paper or just the visionary dream of a poet.

The UN has invented one day like that. One day when everybody lets a glimmer of peace into their busy daily life, from those in poverty living in a corner of the world, or into a devastating war, or children in fear, or into the heart of a young man anxious about his future.

On the 21^st of September the world is commemorating the International Day of Peace, established by resolution 36/67 of the United Nations General Assembly, a day dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

It’s an invitation to peace on Earth, a tradition that started 31 years ago; it’s a way to speak out and raise the voice, loudly pronouncing the condemn to war, since hate is generating hate.

In 2001, the General Assembly launched also 21st September as an annual day of non-violence and cease-fire, as an attempt to take the tough road to dialogue.

The theme for this year is “Education for peace.” It’s a beloved topic for the whole Salesian family and for IIMA in particular, since the association puts effort into defending the education rights for all the children and the youngsters.

Not just education to peace, but also education for peace: it’s important to guarantee the right to education, to know new things, to be informed, to learn, because everybody no matters his or her age can be aware of his or her role within the civil society. This is certain to be an important piece in building a better world. Therefore, peace can be seen as an instrument to educate for life as well.

"On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect.  Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might", UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the 21^st September, highlighting the role education can play in fostering global citizenship.

It’s an awareness-raising initiative about peace and tolerance, since peace creates the premises in promoting human development, giving young people the opportunity to build their future, inspiring for an authentic stability and cutting the plagues of our time—poverty, hunger, child mortality, wars, and illness—drastically.

Peace makes the world colourful, where everybody has the right to be treated as a human being: everybody receives respect through true peace. Men are respected for the colour of their skin, for the language they speak, for their eyes shape, for the food they usually eat, for the way they dress, for what they think and write, for their cultural traditions, for the God they pray to.

We hope education can drive the change, leading to diversity being embraced, because we know we don’t live in a fairy tale, but we can commit together, to make the story of our humanity a good one to tell.