Peace One Day 21 September.
It was a remarkable day at Amalina Islamic Junior High school. The day that brought together 170 Amalina students in their celebration of a global ceasefire and non-violence day, known as Peace One Day.
The Peace One Day 2013 opening ceremony began with several inspirational speeches on peace in our time delivered by Amalina teachers and students. Alongside with promoting morality, tolerance and justice, the speakers placed an emphasis on abolition of wars and all forms of violence among the peoples of the world. The ceremony ended with exclamations of joy and excitement at the raise of the students-made Peace One Day flag.
As smiles of joy and desire to heal this world lit up students' faces, they set off to take a real action to make their world a better place. The students split into several groups to dust, mop, wash and polish their classrooms and clean up the school yard. In doing so, the students realized that creating peace in places with no military action, like, for instance their home, Indonesia, was a hard work which everyone has to do on a daily basis. Moreover, the students went on with decorating their classrooms, creating Peace One Day posters and writing reflective essays, which allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning and beauty of peace in their lives.
One of the highlights of the Peace One Day campaign at Amalina was the multipoint conference on "Who will you make peace with?" with students from Pakistan, Indian, and the United States. Several dozen students from the aforementioned countries had a unique chance to discuss what inspires them to be peacemakers in their communities and share the insights on peace teachings of their religions. Additionally, they pointed to some of the hurdles that prevent people from building peace in their own communities. In a nutshell, the participants discussed the ways of planting the seeds of world peace in people's hearts.
It is hoped that the Peace One Day 2013 campaign has achieved its goals of fighting all forms of violence and promoting respect, tolerance and goodly deeds in our daily lives.