Veterans For Peace national is asking Veterans For Peace members to celebrate International Day of Peace by putting on an event or supporting, joining with and promoting current Peace Day efforts underway in your city or town. It is the intent of Veterans For Peace National to help popularize International Day of Peace to the point that it becomes part of mainstream culture. International Day of Peace does not mean peace somewhere else. To hold meaning to the average person, it must also mean peace in their communities.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All” which aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace. To have peace we must build peace. It will not be built by politicians and nations. It must be made between and built by people. Veterans For Peace opposes war and will be a leading organization to build peace.
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VFP National suggest you use the U.N. theme for the day, “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All”, but in a Peace at Home, Peace Abroad framework as a means to bring together constituencies who seldom find themselves in the same room. In Saint Louis, with peace at home peace abroad in mind, we plan to discuss immigration, the movement for Black Lives, Islam in America and how these communities are impacted by U.S. militarism and wars. Within this framework, we will address ways the traditional anti-war/peace groups and domestic issues oriented organizations may partner to work for peace and ensure everyone's dignity as global citizens is recognized. The event template is to find local speakers who can help turnout people, have in depth knowledge of the domestic challenges communities face and are also familiar with U.S. foreign policy. Partner those speakers with a person that the peace community will be excited to hear from who also understands how communities are negatively impacted by U.S. foreign policy. You may need to bring that person in from another city.
Time is short and you may not be able to do an event this year. No problem, Veterans For Peace National plans to make this a yearly activity. Begin planning for next year or do a simple peace building action - not a protest demonstration - to help people be aware of the day. Here in Saint Louis we also plan to highlight the cities Peace Poles to help raise their visibility in an effort to increase conversations about peace. Let’s do our part to make International Day of Peace a household holiday. We can makes this happen.