How to Celebrate International Day of Peace All Month Long
"Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us,
and the world will live as one"
~ John Lennon
September 21st is The United Nations' International Day of Peace, my favorite day of the year! I am moved to tears every year as I watch so many people all across our one small planet take action towards making a more beautiful world for all beings.
I'm honored and delighted to be a co-founder of BeThePeace (now in our 7th year!) and to be hosting The BeThePeace Challenge again this year. It is such a joy to get to collaborate and co-create global events with so many amazing organizations, groups, and people.
If you've been struggling with a sense of hopelessness about the current state of the world, you're not the only one. One of the best ways to deal with a sense of hopelessness is to help someone else! And there sure are so many ways to get involved this month! Here are over twenty ways you can get involved this month and transform your feelings of despair and hopelessness into action, engagement, hopefulness, and connection with a global community of like-minded humans that are also working towards a similar vision of a peaceful world that works for all. (Scroll down to see the most recent events and please add yours to the global map).
One of the best ways to get out of a sense of hopelessness is to help someone else!
Events Calendar for Peace Month 2018
All of September Leading up to Peace Day
The Summer of Peace is offering a free weekly Summer of Peace Letter featuring inspiring leaders in the fields of spirituality, neuroscience, peacebuilding, compassion and peace education. The letter will provide insights and skills to help you find common ground even in challenging situations – in your family, friendships, business partnerships and polarized social issues (in some cases, better understanding the obstacles to common ground). More Info.
September 5th
The UN High Level Forum on The Culture of Peace: Held at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY (and also live-streamed), key UN and civil society leaders discuss strategies for resolving and preventing conflicts and implementing the UN Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace. 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Rigoberta Menchu Tum will be the keynote speaker. President of the General Assembly and UN Secretary-General will also speak. The theme of the Forum is "The Culture of Peace: A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace". More Info.
September 8th
The Peoples Climate Movement will bring tens of thousands of people across the United States into the streets, town halls, and community forums. Joined by partners around the world, we will demand bold action on climate, jobs, and justice which will determine the future of our movement - and our world - for years to come. More Info.
September 8 - 23
The Global Unity Games - The 2018 September Compassion Games is a 16-day challenge to unify communities around the world in an expression of globally synchronized intentions with locally organized compassionate action. Starting on September 8, 2018 and culminating on World Peace Weekend (September 22-23), players and teams will challenge and inspire each other to organize actions that build bridges between peace, prosperity, and the planet. More Info
Secret Agents of Compassion - As part of the Compassion Games, you can also join as a Secret Agent of Compassion that receives daily missions...should you choose to accept them!
September 11 - 21
11 Days of Global Unity (September 11-21) From empowering students and teachers in Zambia to interfaith dialogues in San Francisco, thousands of organizations around the world and millions of people have taken part in the annual 11 Days of Global Unity: 11 Ways to Transform Your World culminating on September 21st, the U.N. International Day of Peace. Launched by We, The World and global partners in 2004,11 Days has become a worldwide platform for changemakers that links local awareness and action campaigns into an inspiring international movement with as many as 700 associated events in over 60 countries annually worldwide. More Info: WE.net 11DaysOfGlobalUnity.org and GlobalUnityCalendar.org
Climate Conversations TeleSummit during the 11 Days of Global Unity:
Florida Earth Charter Initiative, in collaboration with Florida Gulf Coast University, presents dialogues on each of the 11 Themes for Change.
September 12th
20th Year Anniversary of We, The World and Good News Planet:
September 12th at 6:30PM in New York City and Webcast Worldwide. Featuring dynamic recording artists Al Smith, Kristin Hoffman, Heidi Little, the PURE Dancers, inspiring speakers including Deborah Moldow, Monica Willard, Kathryn Davis, Mitchell Rabin, and a special Video Message from Deepak Chopra. Tribute to Carole Hart with An Urgent Message From Your Children. Musical Tribute to Aretha Franklin. Plus the World Premiere Live Performance of the song "We, The World." Event Webcast and tickets available here.
September 17th
Play for Peace is celebrating it's 20th year! Join their live celebration broadcast here.
September 20th
The BeThePeace Challenge will release a guided meditation and workbook helping people clarify their visions for the peace they wish to see in the world and to practice embodying that now. The Challenge will run the three days of World Peace Weekend.
Join for free here and enjoy our video:
Living the New Story: Cultivating Regenerative Societies Live Online from the Findhorn Foundation, 20 September 2018 to 4 April 2019. Online Zoom conference
All Weekend
Unity Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Peace Day Global Broadcast, September 21-24, streaming 72 hours of continuous peace programming to millions of people in more than 132 countries. Hosted on non-profit PeaceChannel.com, the only 24/7 online network featuring around-the-clock music, news and views about peace, prosperity and protecting the planet.
Global Televised Peace Broadcast - Unify and many other partners will be hosting a 60-hour broadcast that starts on September 21st at 12noon Eastern and goes until Sunday at 12noon Eastern. It will be streaming live from Unify's Facebook Page all weekend long!
The BeThePeace Challenge will be happening all weekend as well. Each day you will receive questions to contemplate and respond to in our facebook group.
Your Events! Everyone around the world is invited to host their own events and to share them on Unify's event map! Let's cover the planet with celebrations of peace! Add your event here. Also, when you register with BeThePeace, you will receive a 30-page e-book Organizer Inspirational Booklet to get you inspired and excited to host your own event!
September 21st: International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace September 21 ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on 21 September and was established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution providing a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace. This year's #peaceday celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "The Right to Peace."
This day honors a long-standing Global Ceasefire and 24 Hours of Compassion. Pathways to Peace honors A Minute of Silence, A Moment of Peace at 12noon in every timezone as a rolling Peace Wave. Events are hosted around the world on this day, including vigils, prayers, pinwheels for peace, and many, many other wonderful events. You can find out more here.
10 Minutes for Peace is being hosted by Unifyre at 9am PDT on September 21st. Link up with people from around the world for a synchronized moment of silence. Learn more here and enjoy their inspiring video below.
Peace Parties - Distributed Dance Party is hosting a global dance party for peace the evening of Peace Day. Check out their playful video below.
September 22nd
Earthdance is a world of communities, working and playing together to create a culture of peace, through music and dance events, synchronized global link-ups, and social activism. More than just an epic party, Earthdance is a flash forward to a peaceful future. Celebrating their 22nd year, everyone around the world is invited to join up for the Prayer for Peace at 5pm PDT. Check out their video below.
Acts of Service - As the culmination of the Global Unity Games, people everywhere are invited to implement service projects on Saturday. Tune into the Global Televised Peace Broadcast to see some of the projects and host your own! More info: Unify.org
September 23rd
Global Synchronized Meditation: Unify is hosting a synchronized moment for all of us to unify together at 12noon PDT.
What else? Are there other global events and campaigns that need to added to this? Please respond in the comments or send a message!
When you join our BeThePeace Challenge, you will receive more event updates and ways to engage, plus you will be invited to a Facebook Group where you can share all of your World Peace Weekend activities and inspirations!
