[:en]Peace Pals International 20th Anniversary Celebration, Geneva, Switzerland[:]

[:en]

21 November 2017

It was an event to be remembered with International Partners #NatureForAll and DiversEarth celebrating with IUCN council members from over 30 countries and special guests from Geneva and abroad.

The event began with guests arriving to Cite Du Temps located in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland and in the middle of the Rhone River. Guests were able to admire the artwork and faces of children which was displayed on various digital frames throughout the event hall.

The event began at 7:30pm with introductions in English and French by Sean Southey of #NatureForAll and Liza Zogib of DiversEarth both partners/collaborators of this year’s Peace Pals International Art Exhibition and awards. We also heard from John G. Robinson, IUCN Vice President and Councilor for North America and the Caribbean; and Chief Conservation Officer, Wildlife Conservation Society who expressed his congratulations to all the children who participated this year and left us with words of wisdom.

Liza Zobig, Director, Sandra Spissenger, Operations and Divya Venkatesh, Communications, spoke about their work with DiversEarth and their invaluable participation with this year’s contest, with the theme “Nature For All ~ Loving The Earth.” Liza, Sandra and Divya were our team on the ground and with their help and expertise in Geneva, this event was an absolute success.

Fumi Johns Stewart, executive director of The World Peace Prayer Society and Jules Lamore, Director of the Peace Pals International program spoke briefly about Peace Pals International and the importance of Peace and Nature for all children and what it means to the youth who participate. This year we received over 4,000 works of art and we encouraged all guests to encourage educators, parents and children from their communities to continue supporting this worthwhile program.

An audio visual concert was performed by Kenji Williams of Bella Gaia who took us through a 20-minute presentation of imagery accompanied by his violin playing. Kenji’s magnificent visual concert allowed us to see the world through the eyes of NASA which left the audience speechless and stunned with a greater understanding and love for our planet.

The Peace Pals Awards were officiated by Jules Lamore of Peace Pals International who invited 12 presenters to join her on stage to present the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners from the 4 age categories. The presenters represented their organizations; The World Peace Prayer Society, DiversEarth, IUCN and special young guests from The International School of Geneva. Everyone in attendance celebrated the winners as the room filled with applaud for each of the talented 12 winners.

Following the awards ceremony for Peace Pals International Art Contest, Liza Zogib announced the local winners from The International School of Geneva, Switzerland.

Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists from both the international and local contests. The winners can be viewed by visiting: http://peacepalsinternational.org/2017-winners-and-finalists/

During the program, Fumi Johns Stewart and Jules Lamore presented IUCN with an 8 language Peace Pole to be on permanent display at the IUCN offices in Gland, Switzerland. Kathy MacKinnonm Chair WCPA, Kristen Walker, Chair, CEESP and Sean Southey, Chair CEC received the Peace Pole on behalf of IUCN. In addition, desktop Peace Poles were gifted to Liza, Sandra and Divya of IUCN as a special thanks for all their heartfelt assistance in Geneva.

The event ended with our World Peace Flag Ceremony Finale, which was led by Fumi Johns Stewart. There wasn’t a silent voice in the theatre as people waved their flags for each and every country in the world as they sent peace to every country by name with a special emphasis for our host country, “May Peace be in Switzerland – May Peace Prevail On Earth.”

After the Finale, the guests were invited to view the art exhibition which featured the 12 winners from the 4 age categories and the 40 finalists of the 20^th Anniversary Peace Pals Art Exhibition and Awards. Many of our guests took selfies of themselves with winning artwork from their countries.