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The exhibition was held in the very impressive Town Hall of Hannover organized by the Japanese-German Friendship Circle of Hannover.

The guests of honor were the Japanese consul of Hamburg:  Mr. Takao Anzawa, Ambassador of Japan for Germany, Ambassador S.E. Takeshi Nakane, from Berlin, Mayor of Hannover, Mr. Thomas Hermann and Vice Chairperson of the Region Hannover, Mrs. Angelika Walther.

The World Peace Prayer Society  was mentioned as guest of honor.

Ambassador Nakane thanked The World Peace Prayer Society (WPPS) for providing the art exhibition.

Dagmar Berkenberg, WPPS  guided Ambassador Nakane to the Art Exhibition.

He looked very carefully at each piece of artwork and was most impressed by a heartfelt letter from a German girl to the children of Hiroshima.

In their speeches, the German politicians mentioned the importance of Hannover as a town of peace (he also mentioned the enormous refugee issue).  I gave them both Peace Pole fliers afterwards and told them that a town of “peace” needs a Peace Pole.

The mayor said he likes the idea and will give it to the Cultural Department.

I handed out origami bookmarks, bearing the message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth” to everyone.

As the town hall attracts hundreds of tourists each day and as the exhibition is well announced (see electronic board), I have no doubt that many people will see it.  The Hannover citizens I spoke too, all agreed that Hannover needs a PEACE POLE.

For 27 years there has been a Youth Exchange going on between Hannover and Hiroshima.

May Peace Prevail with the post-generations of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki victims.

Dagmar Berkenberg, WPPS
Germany

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Students at P.S. 212 in Jackson Heights are looking to spread the idea of peace throughout their community.

Danielle Mahoney, a literacy coach at the elementary school located at 34-25 82nd St., has been teaching students about practicing mindfulness and gratitude for the past year.

While attending a weeklong training conference on mindfulness for kids and adolescents in California, Mahoney noticed a “Peace Pole” in a field and thought it would be a good idea to bring the concept back home.

Peace Poles, which have been planted throughout the world, are handcrafted structures that have the message and prayer “May peace prevail on Earth” on each of its four to six sides.

Mahoney decided to work with one of the third-grade classes she instructs, Jennifer Bayer’s 3-317 class, to have two poles erected outside of P.S. 212 and allow the students to share with the community what they have been learning throughout the year.

“Having these Peace Poles is having to share in the community that regardless of the differences, we can live together and share all the wonderful things about our culture and embrace things and live in a peaceful way,” Mahoney said.

The Peace Poles, which are 7 feet tall and from the organization,  The Peace Pole Project, each feature the message “May peace prevail on Earth” in English, Urdu, Bengali, Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic. They also include two other messages in English: “May peace be in our communities” and “May peace be in our schools.”

“Words are very powerful and as a literacy coach this is not so far away from our core work,” Mahoney said. “When you read it, hopefully the next step is to have action with your words and thoughts will be in a positive way.”

During the Wednesday night ceremony, students, who ranged between 8 to 9 years old, also explained to parents and faculty what the Peace Poles are, why they were being planted and what mindfulness is.

“We hope that when people pass they will take a moment to send kind thoughts to all beings on this planet, and focus on the good and peaceful parts of life,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney added that she has seen that teaching the practice of mindfulness to students has helped them relax more, often using breathing as a tool to cope with difficult times, and also teaches the children how to pay attention to the present moment.

Some students have even tried teaching their parents how taking the time to relax and breathe will help them move forward in their days, according to Mahoney.

“Mindfulness allows us to take the time to respond to situations,” one student said. “We learn not to react to everything that happens. You notice what happens, respond to it and let it go. Mindfulness will help you do that.”

Mahoney also hopes that more schools will consider planting Peace Poles and she even is looking to find a way to plant a pole in Astoria Queens, New York, a community she has called home all her life.

Article written by Angy Altamirano

http://queenscourier.com/jackson-heights-elementary-school-celebrates-planting-of-peace-poles/

Submitted by:  Danielle Mahoney

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April-2015

This year Greater Victoria Peace and Intercultural Celebrations approached Jules Lamore of Peace Pals International with an application to host the 2015 Ambassador of Peace Art Exhibition.

The children’s artwork from the exhibit has inspired our community and we are enjoying expanding our number of exhibits in unique ways.

​ Our first exhibit was held on April 25th & 26th at the Fourth Annual Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival hosted by ​Creatively United for the Planet.  We had a unique opportunity to display the artwork in the storefront windows along a pathway in a beautiful three- acre garden at the English Inn  located in one of our historical communities called Esquimalt.  The art exhibition became a talking point with the Canadian Peace Initiative and local Sierra Club. Shortly after displaying the children’s artwork, it was noticed that T-shirts that had been donated to the table as a fundraiser had the same peace message, May Peace Prevail on Earth!  The T-shirts were donated by one of our well-known early peace pioneers, Louise Taylor.

     

​​Our second exhibit was actually a talking circle with a group of 4^th grade students at Brentwood Bay Elementary in our Greater Victoria Community of Central Saanich.  The World Children’s Summit on Peace and Nature held four workshops with four classes in one day. ​The workshop topics were on:  Storytelling, Nature Photography, Music with the Ukulele and Contemplation with the Labyrinth.  As part of the Labyrinth Workshop the children began a conversation about values.  This was introduced with the amazing artwork from children around the world that each piece of artwork had a different value focus.  The children chose artwork that was meaningful to them to introduce as we went around our circle.  They shared the country, the child’s name and the values they recognized.  It started a lively conversation!  The children then made up their own list of values identifying what was important to them in their classroom!  At the end of the day we shared what we experienced in our workshop with the other three classes by creating a simple heart shaped labyrinth.  We let the children choose one piece of artwork to walk with in​to the center of the labyrinth, while reflecting on the artwork they chose.

​Reaching the center they put their artwork into the center heart!  It was stunning​ to see eighty-six children walking through the labyrinth quietly!

For the month of June our Greater Victoria Public Library Central Branch is displaying The Ambassador of Peace Art Exhibit to celebrate June’s World Refugee Day!  They have created a beautiful display as you enter the Children’s area of their Library. 

The Ambassador of Peace is currently scheduled to be displayed at a storefront gallery at the Fernwood Community Center the August 27th until September 13th, ’15.  This display will compliment the host display called, “Puppets for Peace.”  A unique creative project combining another form of art and celebration!  

September 13th will kick off Greater Victoria ‘s 2nd Annual Peace Week Project with a Puppets for Peace Festival.  This is a calendar of peace themed events to nurture a communities focus of attention on peace.   A grassroots campaign to support local peace events with a vision of local schools, organizations and businesses hosting their own events with a willingness to talk about it!  The grand event for September 21st this year will be hosted by the World Children’s Summit on Peace and Nature.  Plans are for this to be Victoria’s final Ambassador of Peace Exhibit.  The World Summit is planning to host guest speakers and entertainment based upon the theme of their workshops!  

Submitted by:  Renee Lindstrom

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A member of The Goi Peace Foundation, Mrs. Okita, organized a peace art exhibition entitled “Vibration of Love and Peace” and a Peace Pals Art Contest exhibition in March.

The art, which consisted of paintings, photography, illustration, crafts, fancywork, origami, calligraphy, and peace dolls, from 34 artists, was exhibited at a local public facility in Funabashi city near Tokyo.

The Peace Pals Art Contest was clearly popular among the visitors as they stayed for long periods of time in front of the artworks.

 

Mrs. Okita would love to have another Peace Pals Art Contest again next year!

May Peace Prevail on Earth

Report from the WPPS Japan Office

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February 4 – 9, 2015

A week-long event took place in the west coast beach town of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, located in the State of Guerrero. The event was organized by the Zihuatanejo Peace Committee which was founded by WPPS Peace Representative Patricia Ann Talley who planted the first Peace Pole in the center of town 5 years ago. The directorship passed to Wendy Carbajal this year with Patricia still serving as honorary board member and advisor.

The event was supported by a large number of local organizations and businesses including the Rotary Club, University of Tourism and the City of Zihuatanejo as well as North American based organizations including WPPS, the UN NGO committee for the International Day of Peace, the Peace School of Chicago, Wayne State University, CoNGO, Cercle de Paix and the Detroit Renaissance Peace Center.

The week opened with a WPPS Peace Pals Art Exhibition which was held at the Archeological Museum. The Ambassador of Peace Exhibition features artwork from 86 countries by artists aged 5 through 18, collected over the past 17 years the Peace Pals Art Awards program has been in action. Each artwork includes the message May Peace Prevail On Earth.

 

On February 9th the grand finale was celebrated with a World Peace Flag Ceremony around the Peace Pole. To open the program, children from Casa Pacifica presented a short play and led us in singing “We are the World.” The first nation peoples from the area also blessed us with their ceremonial dance and ritual.

After the World Peace Flag Ceremony, youth from the Alliance program led a peace march through the center of town to the municipal playground where the Mayor Luis Fernando Vergara Silva and State Governor Rogelio Ortega Martínez officiated the ceremony to certify Zihuatanejo as an International City of Peace.

The local TV station enthusiastically covered the finale program on television.

May Peace be in Zihuatanejo
May Peace be in Mexico

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Congratulations to the students of Sagar Kambli of the Gurukul School of Art in Mumbai, India – We were so fortunate to have three Finalist in the 2014 – 17th Annual Peace Pals International Art Exhibition and Awards.

This year we received thousands of works of art from children all over the globe.
Theme for 2014:  “Right to Peace.”
Official theme of the 2014 UN International Day of Peace.

Mr. Kambli sent us photos of the winners, as well as a news clipping and a special Happy New Year photo from all the students.

If  you were a Winner or Finalist in the Peace Pals Art Exhibition and Awards contest for 2014, please send your photos to jules@worldpeace.org
To see all of our Winners and Finalist for 2014 – Please click here.

Peace Pals International
Peace Pals International on Facebook

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