June Newsletter
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009| Sunday, June 14, 2009 |
| Dear Culture of Peace Initiative Participants (CPI),
There are less than 100 days remaining to plan and create Peace Day observances and every minute counts. On Saturday, June 13,the United Nations issued a message to mark the 100 day countdown by announcing a multimedia campaign for nuclear disarmament! We have been attending IDP planning meetings at the United Nations in New York City and are excited about the new developments for this year. We will keep you informed as plans solidify. It was reported in the media that Mick Jagger, Nas and Joss Stone, the Slumdog Millionaire Composer and Oscar winner A R Rahman, along with reggae legend Bob Marley’s sons Damian and Stephen, and possibly U2 ’s Bono are set to team up and create an album of peace songs. It will be released on Peace Day and proceeds will go to UN programs. With the help and support of these high profile artists, the 2009 International Day of Peace is set to make headlines this year! >24 Hour World Peace Celebration 2009 will be the most inclusive International Day of Peace celebration ever produced. The Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) website will be the host for a global telecast for the United Nation’s 24 Hour World Peace Celebration. The site will host video presentations and streaming videos of peacebuilders from all over the world! The web content will be subtitled in dozens of languages. In additon, the event will be broadcast over the radio and by television! The event will feature a one hour special highlighting the official International Day of Peace ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and high profile UN ambassadors for peace. The event was initiated by the Unity Foundation in association with Pathways to Peace and the Jane Goodall Institute’s “Roots and Shoots” program. We will keep you updated on this event as we progress! The people of the beautiful island of Okinawa, Japan have faced a tragic history of war and conflict. However, in recent history its people have been praying and organizing for world peace. Okinawa is now the home of “Celebration Earth“, a six-month festival for peace which encourages the ‘Peace Day, Every Day’ spirit envisioned by the Culture of Peace Initiative. The festival’s events from April 1 to September 21 are helping to establish a model of international peace and inner peace. The Culture of Peace Initiative is collaborating by helping to connect their message and events to the world! We encourage you to take a look at their inspiring events so far on the Celebration Earth network . Paul Coleman, Ambassador to CPI, is the co-founder of Celebration Earth. You may follow an account of his experiences on his blog! Most of the 2009 calendars worldwide now have the Peace Day listed, thanks to our dedicated volunteer Director of the Peace Day Calendar Program, Melvin Weiner. Go Melvin! Check out the new videos on our home page produced by the Unity Foundation, who we are collaborating with in organizing the 24 Hour World Peace Celebration. Their Positive Spinprograms provide solution-oriented news, highlighting peacebuilding and humanitarian intiatives and people living under environmental exploitation and repressive regimes. Thank you, CPI Participants, for your dedication to building a culture of Peace for future generations on Peace Day and every day. CPI Coordinator Michael Johnson, CPI Outreach Intern - Michael Kwan |