ABOUT
The United Nations International Day of Peace (Peace Day) is a day observed across the world on September 21 by NGOs, communities, individuals and governments. Peace Day has grown to involve hundreds of millions of people across worldwide. Multiple day observances take place in many cities across the world, including Philadelphia.
Peace Day provides a globally-shared date for all humanity to take part in activities that contribute to the creation of a more peaceful, compassionate, knowledgeable and unified world.
Peace Day activities are wide ranging and involve: education, humanitarian aid and service, the arts, projects for the environment, spiritual and interfaith gatherings, non-violence forums, intercultural dialogues, social justice activities, walks and vigils, meditations, youth peacebuilding trainings, conferences, sport for peace events and a wide array of community-building activities and celebrations. Peace Day can be observed individually or as part of a group or organization. For ideas about how you/your organization can engage in Peace Day, CLICK HERE.
The 2024 Global Theme:
Cultivating a Culture of Peace
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.
In that declaration, the United Nations’ most inclusive body recognized that peace “not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.”
As our world is rocked by deadly geopolitical conflicts, there has never been a better time to remember how the General Assembly came together in 1999 to lay out the values needed for a culture of peace. Those include: respect for life, human rights and fundamental freedoms; the promotion of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation; commitment to peaceful settlement of conflicts; and adherence to freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, pluralism, cultural diversity, dialogue and understanding at all levels of society and among nations.
In follow-up resolutions, the General Assembly recognized further the importance of choosing negotiations over confrontation and of working together and not against each other.
The International Day of Peace has always been a time to lay down weapons and observe ceasefires. But it now must also be a time for people to see each other’s humanity. Our survival as a global community depends on that.
Learn more HERE
The 2023 global theme:
ACTIONS FOR PEACE: OUR AMBITION FOR THE #GLOBALGOALS.
This theme is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all. Learn more here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace
Read the UN Secretary-General’s 100-Day Countdown Message HERE
The 2022 global theme:
END RACISM. BUILD PEACE.
Secretary-General António Guterres:
“Racism continues to poison institutions, social structures, and everyday life in every society. It continues to be a driver of persistent inequality. And it continues to deny people their fundamental human rights. It destabilizes societies, undermines democracies, erodes the legitimacy of governments, and… the linkages between racism and gender inequality are unmistakable. We all have a role to play in fostering peace. And tackling racism is a crucial way to contribute.”
For more information, CLICK HERE
2021 Global Peace Day Theme:
Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world
Statement Excerpt: In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.
The pandemic has been accompanied by a surge in stigma, discrimination, and hatred, which only cost more lives instead of saving them: the virus attacks all without caring about where we are from or what we believe in. Confronting this common enemy of humankind, we must be reminded that we are not each other’s enemy. To be able to recover from the devastation of the pandemic, we must make peace with one another.
And we must make peace with nature. Despite the travel restrictions and economic shutdowns, climate change is not on pause. What we need is a green and sustainable global economy that produces jobs, reduces emissions, and builds resilience to climate impacts.
The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. We invite you to join the efforts of the United Nations family as we focus on recovering better for a more equitable and peaceful world. Celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.
To read the full statement by the UN Secretary General about the 2021 theme, CLICK HERE.
2020 GLOBAL PEACE DAY THEME: Shaping Peace Together
Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred. Join us so that we can shape peace together.
For more about this year’s theme, CLICK HERE
UN Secretary-General’s 100 Day Countdown Message:
“Each year, on 21 September, the United Nations calls on everyone, everywhere, to observe 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire. Today, 100 days before the International Day of Peace, it is essential to remember that our common enemy is a virus that causes widespread suffering and risks reversing decades of human progress.
That is why, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, I called on all warring parties to lay down their weapons. These are not normal times, and our responses cannot be routine. The pandemic is not just a health issue. It is having direct and troubling effects on development, peace and security.
Our global ceasefire appeal is resonating in many places and with many different groups. While distrust can make implementation difficult, I have been heartened by the strong support the appeal has received from civil society, which can influence and mobilize people at the grassroots.” – António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
ANNUAL STUDENT OBSERVANCE OF PEACE DAY AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Each year, the United Nations Headquarters in New York hosts the student observance of the International Day of Peace, which for 2015 involved over 700 students and UN Messengers of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall, Michael Douglas, Leonardo DiCaprio and Yo-Yo Ma. You can watch past observances of the International Day of Peace at the UN, or live on September 20 in the am, here: http://webtv.un.org/.
