September 19th, 2011
URI Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Peace Day
URI Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Peace Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Julian Foley
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(415) 561-2300 ext. 32
URI CELEBRATES THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE DAY
Activities for IDP include a global teleconference on nuclear arms reduction and an on-line pledge campaign to promote tolerance.
San Francisco, CA September 13, 2011 – On Tuesday, September 20, Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, a member of the United Religions Initiative (URI) global interfaith network, will gather anti-nuclear advocates, religious leaders and peace activists of all kinds for a first-ever global grassroots teleconference on ending the nuclear threat.
This meeting, led by Nobel Prize winner Mairead Carrigan Maguire, Stanford physics professor Sidney Drell and other key disarmament leaders, is just one of dozens of events being put on by URI members all over the world in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Peace, September 21.
Established by the United Nations in 1981, the International Day of Peace was created to inspire individuals, organizations and nations to take practical actions to promote peace. It is also a day of international ceasefire.
“Of course we cannot create peace in a single day,” said URI Executive Director Charles P. Gibbs, “but we believe that peace is a process that starts in the hearts and minds of individuals, and grows to encompass communities, towns and cities, countries and regions.
“The International Day of Peace helps inspire and nurture that process.”
URI has been promoting and celebrating IDP for more than ten years. Two major campaigns this year include the “Intolerance ends with me” on-line pledge campaign that runs the entire month of September on www.uri.org; and 11 Days, 11 Ways, a campaign by URI in North America in partnership with We the World that highlights different aspects of peacebuilding, from health to economic justice to the environment, on each day between September 11 and September 21.
Activities by URI’s more than 500 member organizations around the world include a march for peace in Bethlehem, Palestine by Volunteering for Peace; environmental events by groups in New York and Melbourne, Australia; and a youth conference under the theme “Make your voice heard,” by the Youth Society for Peace in Nepal. (Click here to read more.)
URI also helps organize official IDP celebrations at the United Nations each year, including an annual student observance and ringing of the peace bell. Former URI Youth Ambassador Rowaida Mroue of Lebanon will speak on a panel at this year’s youth event, scheduled for September 15.
If you would like more information about URI’s International Day of Peace activities or to schedule an interview with URI’s United Nations representative, Monica Willard, or URI Executive Director Charles Gibbs, please contact Julian Foley at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
About URI:
URI is a global network of 500 grassroots organizations, called Cooperation Circles, dedicated to peace and justice through interfaith and cross-cultural cooperation. Its nearly half a million members are overcoming distrust and hostility every day for the good of their communities—mediating religiously motivated conflict; building schools, orphanages and health clinics; campaigning for citizenship rights and more in 78 countries. They touch the lives of an estimated 2.5 million people. The network is led by Executive Director Charles Gibbs, President William E. Swing, and Yoland Trevino, chair of an elected 29-member Global Council of Trustees from 19 countries.
Visit www.uri.org for information on URI’s projects in Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East and North Africa; North America; and Southeast Asia and the Pacific.