“…Our world needs peace. Peace is the ultimate prize for all humanity,” said junior Kyler Nishimura, speaking at the Mount Madonna School (MMS) September 23 commemoration of the International Day of Peace. “Cultivating a culture of peace means replacing division, disempowerment and despair with justice, equality and hope for all; It means focusing on preventing conflict.”
The statement read by Nishimura was part of a public message delivered by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on September 21 during the UN’s International Day of Peace acknowledgement.
Through song, reflection, group activity and a playful cooperative game with colorful, assorted balls, some 170 people – comprised primarily of the school’s preschool through grade 12 student body – came together for the Mount Madonna peace day commemoration, which featured guests Shira Coleman Hagar and Marcia Stein of Educators for Peaceful Classrooms and Communities, who facilitated a discussion to create a framework for promoting peace.
“How can we each use our small voice to make big peaceful changes to the people and things around us?” Hagar asked the students. While numerous ideas were eventually shared, the first came from a young child, who said simply, “more kindness.”
Peace day is celebrated annually on September 21 as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace. The 2024 theme, “Cultivating a Culture of Peace,” represents a call to action that recognizes the individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.
At Mount Madonna School’s event, the voices of first through fifth grade students, accompanied by classmates on musical instruments, under the direction of June Bonacich, performed a heartfelt rendition of “This Day of Peace”; the high school choir, guided by music teacher Holly Ota, shared a lovely, inspiring version of “I Will be the Change”; and senior student Lagi Hunnicutt read the school’s land acknowledgement, identifying that the school sits on land that is the homeland of the Ohlone people. Seventh grade students read “Don’t Hesitate” a poem by Mary Oliver; and freshman Minami Wu shared a classmate’s reflection on cultivating peace.
High School history teacher Greg Shirley, who leads the schools Model United Nations club, spoke about the history and founding of the International Day of Peace.
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the day of peace as a period devoted to non-violence and cease-fire.
2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. In that declaration, the UN recognizes that peace “not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.”
“While the International Day of Peace ceremony is commemorated on one day of the year, building a peaceful community is a daily practice,” commented Mount Madonna Head of School Ann Goewert. “I encourage each of you to think about how you can be a vehicle for peace and remember Mahatma Gandhi’s words: ‘I will be the change’.”
