PEACE DAY 2006 UNITES ALL THE WORLDâS 192 NATIONS
IN A COLLECTIVE CALL FOR PEACE
CHICAGO (Sept. 8, 2006) â âIt was a great event that put together all countries in the world for peace!â Thatâs how Ernawadi (cq) of Chicagoâs Indonesian consulate summed up Chicagoâs 28th annual PEACE DAY, held Sept. 7 in the outdoor plaza at Richard J. Daley Civic Center.
âThis is so important to the world that I wanted to be there myself, and to carry my countryâs flag personally,â said Lesly Conde, Haitiâs consul general in Chicago.
Organized annually since 1978 by the Peace School, PEACE DAY this year centered on a ceremony led by the schoolâs Charles Kim, in which flags from the worldâs 192 nations were individually presented in a formal wish for peace in each nation and worldwide.
Official representatives of Austria, the Peopleâs Republic of China, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Haiti, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Portugal presented their nationsâ flags. Flags also were carried by students from Namaste Charter School, Northside Catholic Academy, and Columbia College; residents of Misericordia Home for the developmentally disabled; volunteers from the Netherlands Club and the Swiss Club, and representatives from the Japanese Cultural Center and Cambodian Association of Illinois.
âWeâre so happy to have our students joining in a call for peace,â said Gail Smith, whose Northside Catholic Academy third graders carried flags. âWe would certainly want our students to participate next year,â added eighth-grade NCA teacher Cathy Chester.
Namaste teacher Andrea Frost said her third-grade students participated in PEACE DAY as an extension of Namasteâs school-wide focus on peace. âThe flags werenât heavy,â one shy third grader said with a smile.
Vibrant performances by The Other 3 Tenors â Franco Martorana, Simon Lee, and Warren Moulton â as well as traditional African dance by the Najwa Dance Corps and Aztec music and dance by Ehecatl â showcased the cityâs rich international cultural resources while entertaining the crowd of several hundred.
âWe donât realize how many people in other countries are praying for peace like we are,â said one Chicagoan in the audience.
A proclamation of support from Mayor Richard M. Daley was read by Gene Lee, deputy chief of staff in the mayorâs office. Susan Shin represented Gov. Rod Blagojevich in reading his proclamation of support. Both officials declared Sept. 7-21 PEACE DAYS, with Sept. 21 coinciding with the United Nationsâ International Day of Peace.
Originated and organized by the Peace School, 3121 N. Lincoln Ave., every year since 1978, PEACE DAY is a Chicago tradition that has echoed worldwide, focusing attention on the potential of each individual to contribute to world peace through peaceful thoughts, speech and actions, year-round as well as on PEACE DAY.
PEACE DAY has been proclaimed or supported by governors in all 50 states and mayors of more than 540 U.S. cities. In Chicago, PEACE DAY has been held in cooperation with the City of Chicago Mayorâs Office of Special Events since 1993.
In 1982 the United Nations designated the third Tuesday of each September as an International Day of Peace. In 1987, the U.N. honored the Peace School as a Peace Messenger â one of just a few U.S. organizations so designated â in recognition of the Schoolâs work during the 1986 International Year of Peace.