SECOND ANNUAL PEACE DAY HAWAI'I
Islanders gather in pursuit of peace
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Photo gallery: Peace Day |
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser Staff Writer
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They came to dream big yesterday, united by a vision of a world filled with peace from the school yard to the Middle East at the second annual Peace Day Hawai'i.
Celebrated by 200 countries around the world, the International Day of Peace is celebrated on Sept. 21 every year. It was created by the United Nations in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. It was established last year in Hawai'i — the first state in the nation to do so — as a way to promote peace, improve international relations and increase educational awareness of peace.
"Peace Day is not just about peace activists," said Joanne Tachibana, a Peace Day Committee member. "The people here today want to see the world become a more peaceful place."
Yesterday, about 100 people gathered at the Hawai'i Convention Center at the Peace Education Forum "Is Peace Possible in our Schools?"
They heard a panel of experts discuss if it was possible to create peace on school campuses, about school bullying, and about 'Iolani School's Peace Institute. Later, they were entertained by music and taiko drumming and singing.
Tricia Jones, a Temple University professor specializing in conflict resolution, said that bullying is the No. 1 problem in most U.S. schools today.
"The United States leads the world in the number of incidents of bullying at school and in the workplace," Jones said. "Bullying is not a normal part of childhood and is a situation that shouldn't happen, is harmful to those involved and needs adult intervention."
The numbers tell it all:
Eliminating bullying on campus is one way to carve out peace, but 'Iolani senior Ayesha Cooray said peace not only starts with one person, it starts with her generation.
"Our world is in a state of great conflict right now," said Cooray, 17. "It's really important for people our age to get involved. Sometimes it is depressing, but you cannot just ignore it."
Peace Day Hawai'i was created on behalf of the members of the Hawai'i Federation of Junior Young Buddhist Associations of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i during the 2007 legislative session.
Cameron Kubota, a Kailua High School senior, was among those who turned out in support of the measure. So giving up a Sunday for peace was not a sacrifice.
The 17-year-old said people need to learn from the lessons of the Sept. 11 attacks, and follow the Buddhist tradition of traveling down the middle path.
"Peace is a big issue," Kubota said. "It's a very good cause to be here. I have a moral responsibility to myself to be a part of this movement."
Keith Haugen, a Star of the Sea Hawaiian language teacher, attended the Peace Day talks so he could take something back to his classroom. His goal is to get his students to think in terms of peace.
"It's a big leap for kids to learn to get along with each other and then relate that to peace in the world," Haugen said. "I'm really interested in universal peace."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.
