United Nations Highlights Critical Importance of Sustainable Development Goals on International Day of Peace
The United Nations will celebrate the International Day of Peace on 16 September 2016. The theme of this year’s observance is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace”. In a video message released ahead of the Day, the Secretary-General said, “Peace is not just about putting weapons aside. It is about building societies where people share the benefits of prosperity on a healthy planet.” Stressing that sustainable development was essential for lasting peace, he urged people everywhere to champion the Goals.
The Day, which is traditionally observed every year on 21 September, was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. In 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.
At United Nations Headquarters in New York, activities for the Day will begin on 16 September at 9 a.m. with the traditional Peace Bell Ceremony in the Japanese Garden. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President of the seventy-first session of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson of Fiji, will ring the Japanese Peace Bell in the company of the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, Koro Bessho, as well as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Cristina Gallach. They will be joined by United Nations Messengers of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Midori, Stevie Wonder and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Goodwill Ambassador Sunny Varkey. Other special guests will include Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman, as well as the winner of the 2016 Global Teacher Prize, Hanan Al Hroub. Students will hold flags of all 193 Member States as well as that of the United Nations.
In the General Assembly Hall at 9:30 a.m., more than 800 high school and university students will join the Secretary-General, Messengers of Peace and Nobel Laureates to exchange views on this year’s theme at a student conference, which will be moderated by Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas. The event will be opened with a performance by hip hop artists Ike Ramos and Nitty Scott of Flocabulary, who will break down the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into easy to understand concepts, to inspire young people around the world to take action to support the United Nations development agenda. Flocabulary is a web-based learning programme for all grades and subjects that uses educational hip-hop music to engage students and increase achievement. Teachers in more than 60,000 schools have used Flocabulary’s standards-based videos, instructional activities and formative assessments to develop core literacy skills and supplement instruction across the curriculum.
Students participating in New York, and by video link from the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in Cyprus and Liberia, will present ideas and projects on peace-related issues. In addition, there will be a musical performance from the Rainbow Choir from the Republic of Korea. To conclude the student observance, Ban Soon-taek, the Secretary-General’s wife, will ring a peace bell and observe a minute of silence.
Later, at 1 p.m. in the United Nations Bookshop, there will be a presentation by Seiko Takase, daughter of Chiyoji Nakagawa, the creator of the United Nations Peace Bell. She will tell the story of her father’s life-long legendary quest to create and donate the Peace Bell to the United Nations.
The events are open to previously registered guests and all United Nations grounds pass holders. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. The Peace Bell ceremony and the student observance will also be broadcast live via United Nations Webcast at webtv.un.org.
Additional information, including the full text of the Secretary-General’s message, is available on the International Day of Peace website in all six United Nations languages at www.un.org/en/events/peaceday.
Media contacts
Student conference, please contact Kimberly Mann, Chief, Education Outreach Section, Department of Public Information, at e-mail: mann@un.org.
Peace Bell Ceremony or Messengers of Peace, please contact Jon Herbertsson, Information Officer, Department of Public Information, at e-mail: herbertsson@un.org.
For media accreditation, please contact the United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, at e-mail: malu@un.org.