International Day of Peace: Of tolerance, harmony and non-violence

Mashal school students walk to square to raise awareness.


Our Correspondent September 23, 2013
International Day of Peace: Of tolerance, harmony and non-violence. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: Around 500 students from a non-profit school  in Nurpur Shahan asked the world on Saturday to “give peace a chance.”

Mashal Model School, in collaboration with Right to Play (RTP) Pakistan, celebrated International Day of Peace with a walk to a nearby square and a display of drawings and posters.

The school, run entirely on private donations, provides subsidised education and guidance for street children.Children, teachers and parents gathered at the school where the students showcased the posters and drawings they had made for peace day. Adorned with doves and slogans of worldwide peace, the posters decried war and reinforced peace day’s ideals of harmony and non-violence.

Since 2002, International Day of Peace has been celebrated annually on September 21. The students then walked from their school to a nearby square to raise awareness for peace among the community.

The peace day event was part of a wider celebration by RTP Pakistan --- the local chapter of an international organisation that uses sports to educate children --- with partner schools in the country, said RTP Pakistan Communications Coordinator Ali Khayam.

He added in the week leading up to peace day, RTP arranged peace-related courses for Mashal students according to their grade level. Khayam said the students also learnt conflict resolution through a methodology called “Sport for Peace and Development.” “Using this methodology, the children were informed about how to resolve conflicts peacefully through small games and sports activities,” he said.

The children’s efforts rhymed with the “Education for Peace” message sent out by the United Nations (UN) for 2013 peace day.

“On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an official statement available on the UN website. “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.”

Khayam said RTP Pakistan has also launched a “Global Peace Wave” campaign in its allied schools nationwide. The campaign aims to educate children about the benefits of a peaceful society.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2013.

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