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International Peace Day

The world was a different place in 1981. The first outbreak of a mysterious disease, later dubbed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was reported. Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan were both wounded by gunmen, and the president of Egypt was assassinated. Israel annexed Golan Heights. The United Nations tried and failed to get the Soviet Union to pull out of Afghanistan.

Today, AIDS has transformed into a world-wide epidemic. This past Friday, six British men were accused of plotting to assassinate the current pope, Pope Benedict XVI. The Golan Heights continue to be disputed as part of the often violent Israel – Palestine conflict. Afghanistan is struggling to establish democracy, plagued by violence and internal unrest, and inhabited by military troops from Canada and other nations.

One thing that has not changed between 1981 and 2010, however, is the need to create and establish peace in our world.

Every September 21st this need for peace has been addressed as part of the International Day of Peace. Established in 1981 as part of a UN Resolution, it is a day to celebrate, nurture, and educate ourselves about creating peace. In Vancouver, SFU students will be celebrating International Peace Day with Somali-born singer, rapper, and poet, K’naan.

A strong advocate for peace in his home country, K’naan’s socially conscious music exploded onto the music scene in the past year, with his single Wavin’ Flag acting as both an unofficial anthem during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and part of the official soundtrack of this year’s FIFA World Cup. A second version of the song, sung by Young Artists for Haiti, raised funds for earthquake relief after the devastating natural disaster earlier this year.

The Second Annual World Peace Day at Simon Fraser University (SFU) will feature a selection of motivational speakers, games, food, and information booths. The theme of the day is Access to Education, and all funds raised will go towards I Vision One World (iVow) Scholarship Fund, a student-run organization based out of SFU. For more information on SFU’s Peace Day events, please visit www.ivisiononeworld.org/peaceday2010.

If you’re planning on staying in on the 21st, you can tune in online to Peace Day celebrations. A live webcast hosted by Jude Law and Sharon Stone will be broadcast from Paris. You can view the webcast and make your own commitment to peace on www.peaceoneday.org.

Regardless of how you plan to spend International Peace Day, however, the official Peace Day website asks you to take a small moment out of your day to think about the state of our world and how we can make it better. They describe the day as “a Day of Ceasefire – personal or political”, and to acknowledge this, they ask that we “take this opportunity to make peace in our own relationships as well as impact the larger conflicts of our time. Imagine what a whole Day of Ceasefire would mean to humankind.”

Imagine a Day of Peace.