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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACEThe International Day of Peace, established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly, was first inaugurated on the third Tuesday of September, 1982. Beginning on the 20th anniversary in 2002, the UN General Assembly set 21 September as the now permanent date for the International Day of Peace.  In establishing the International Day of Peace, the United Nations General Assembly decided that it would be appropriate "to devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as of the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways… (The International Day of Peace) should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples." As part of our efforts to Be the Change Imagine Peace organized an observance and celebration of the International Day of Peace in Second Life. Festivities in the Discordia sim included a day-long community gathering with dancing, space for quiet meditation, a challenge to community members to Be the Change and a noon-hour address by Imagine Peace founder Rainbow Drake and Linden Labs' CEO Philip Linden, who read the Proclamation of Peace in Second Life he had written for the occassion. The text of Philip's proclamation follows: From San Francisco, CA / Ambleside Proclamation for The International Day of Peace September 21 In 1981, the United Nations created the International Day of Peace "devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples". The UN expanded this Day in 2001 to call for a global day of ceasefire and non-violence. They invite all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities for the duration of this Day. This morning at the UN headquarters, the Secretary-General renewed this call with a ringing of the Peace Bell and a moment of silence. In Second Life, we believe we are also a budding nation -- one that simulates the real world, but which allows people to transcend the limitations of it. We further believe that the ways in which Second Life brings so many together, to communicate and create freely, is a force for Peace. By allowing its Residents to limitlessly express their imaginations together, Second Life has something special to contribute to the International Day of Peace. I hope that in some near future Second Life can help the real world to be more peaceful. That it lets people come to understand one another outside boundaries that previously divided them. I, Philip Linden, therefore proclaim September 21 to likewise be the International Day of Peace in Second Life. I hope all groups and members of our community may commemorate this in their own way. May they always rez the best of their creativity, remember the noblest human aspirations in their daily businesses, generously assist and welcome new Residents as they always have. At our best in Second Life, we do live out what Mahatma Gandhi said -- "We must become the change we want to see in the world." |
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Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended. Quotations taken from Pathways to Peace and the World Peace Prayer Society as noted. Background image courtesy of Torley. Earth image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech. All other content is copyright 2006 Laura a.k.a. Rainbow Drake. |
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