Wings of Peace Celebrates the United Nations International Day of Peace

Thirty years ago, the UN did something wonderful. They declared Sept 21 of every year the International Day of Peace, or Peace Day for short.

I don't know how others celebrated this great day, but I found a way. Here's the story: 

War is unfortunately a constant in our world. From the unrest in the Middle East to the summer of violence we’ve experienced closed to home, violence impacts our children daily. 

For the past thirty-two years, the United Nations has declared September 21st the International Day of Peace. Observed around the world, it is a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations.  The UN Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon has urged everyone to think about how they could contribute. This year’s theme: “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future.”

The Church of Scientology, Colorado, located at 24th and Blake just a few blocks east of Coors Field, teamed up with Youth for Human Rights International, a secular organization dedicated to teaching youth around the world about their human rights.  The group decided that the best way to celebrate peace was to teach children how knowing about your human rights can help create a more peaceful world.  “Our children are our most sustainable resource,” the Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Patricia Ross, stated.  “What better way to honor this year’s theme?”

In 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt spear-headed the effort to ratify the Declaration of Human Rights in the United Nations.  There are thirty rights, among them, “We’re all born Free and Equal,” “Don’t Discriminate,” “The Freedom to Move,” and “The Right to Play.” Children from Englewood, Broomfield, Arvada, Denver, gathered at the Church to discuss what peace is, watch a number of short videos on human rights, and talk about how ideas such as “No slavery” or “The Right to Privacy,” affected not just themselves as individuals but their ability to create peace.  They then wrote messages of peace they crafted—“Peace makes you happy. Peace is  calm” and  “Peace is awesome,” to give just two examples—attached them to balloons, and let the balloons fly free shouting “peace!” as loud as they could.

One mother observed, I knew as I watched my daughter make the connection between peace and human rights that here was an anchor.  Peace is something that is now more real to her, and by knowing that she has these wonderful, amazing things called ‘human rights,’ it gives me a way to help her understand what’s going on in the world, both good and bad.” Another mother said that she was glad her son was learning his human rights at such a young age.  “I never thought about it before,” she continued, “but I didn’t know about my rights until I was older and getting into trouble.  Then I was being told I had these things called rights. I am so glad that he knows now that he has rights.”

“Rights belong to everyone. They’re something that can’t be taken away,” the children all agreed, and they wondered who would end up getting their message of peace.

So if you find a card attached to a remnant of a balloon on the street or in your back yard that has one of these messages of peace written in a child’s scrawl, you know what you hold.  Celebrate the idea of peace and know that human rights aren’t just some words on paper. They are real, living things that can help create peace in the world.

For more information on the Declaration of Human Rights, visit www.YouthforHumanRights.org.  For more information about the Wings for Peace program, you can contact me, Patricia Ross, Director of Public Affairs, Church of Scientology, Denver at (303) 789-7668. 

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