Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—UPF-Ethiopia marked the UN International Day of Peace with a forum under the UN theme “Partnerships for Peace—Dignity for All.”
Eighteen Ambassadors for Peace plus three guests, mainly Youth Ambassadors for Peace, participated in the forum, which was held at the UPF offices in the capital, Addis Ababa, on September 19, 2015.
The participants came from various sectors, such as education, peace and security, women’s and children’s affairs, information and development and even from the private sector.
The program started with the presentation “Promoting a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World” by Mr. Simon Amare Tekeba, secretary general of UPF-Ethiopia.
This presentation was designed as a resource on the UPF website for the UN International Day of Peace. The participants found the presentation very useful because it associates the statements of both the UN and UPF, encouraging all people to practice the culture of peace and nonviolence for a peaceful world.
In particular, one of the last slides invited the viewer to reflect upon the question “What are we doing for peace?”
The participants found the presentation very inspiring, and some noted that UPF is not only a useful NGO but fundamentally practices the culture of peace.
The second part of the day featured a discussion of the following questions:
- What is true peace?
- Is there true peace in this world?
- Peace starts from whom or where?
- Who is the first entity responsible for peace? - What is my contribution as a partner for peace (as an Ambassador for Peace)?
- What is my contribution so there is dignity for all?
- What resolutions should I make to make peace happen?
The discussion forum was interactive. First, the secretary general asked all the participants to briefly introduce themselves in order to break the ice. Then the participants started sharing their ideas and answers about peace.
