From left to right : (top) Mercedes Trujillo ; Rosa Olazábal Valle, President of Peace and Cooperation ; Miguel Pérez ; (bottom) Tania Ramírez ; María Fernández ; Carlos Uriarte.
As part of the Peace and Cooperation activity programme for 2022 and its 40th anniversary, the President of said Foundation celebrated the School Day of Non-violence and Peace at an online conference on 31th January. Various personalities specialised in juvenile education attended this conference, sharing their experiences in this field and examining different ways of promoting the values of peace among young people in the face of current challenges posed by new technologies, cultural globalisation and sustainability.
The President of Peace and Cooperation opened the conference, welcoming all participants and reminding that every 30th January the Day of Peace is celebrated in all Spanish schools. Also, she explained that the establishment of the School Day of Non-Violence and Peace on 30th January was initiated by the poet, educator and pacifist from Majorca Llorenç Vidal, in 1964, on the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi.
Peace and Cooperation decided to celebrate the School Day of Non-Violence and Peace online. Indeed, because of the pandemic, the Foundation was not able to go to schools as it used to go.
Peace and Cooperation joined the celebration of this event in 1986, declared the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Peace and Cooperation’s president said that since this date the Foundation has celebrated this Day in various Spanish schools. Last editions were celebrated in a school in Majadahonda. Ambassadors and diplomats from countries around the world such as Serbia, India, Moldova, Cyprus, Ghana, South Africa and Poland participated, among others. They laid out the situation of education in their own countries and the importance of education for peace and reconciliation as a solution to conflicts.
Peace and Cooperation defends any pacifist movement and thus relays the words of Mahatma Gandhi “There is no way to peace, peace is the way”.
The Foundation’s philosophy is to bring global issues into schools so that students and teachers are the protagonists of the future, defending and sharing the values of the United Nations.
Rosa Olazábal Valle ended her speech with these right words : “It may seem naive but without utopia, we can not forge the walls for peace, which build bridges between people and cultures, and make our planet more just and supportive”.
This conference, moderated by Mercedes Trujillo, Doctor of Law and Correspondent Academician of the Royal Academy of Legislative Jurisprudence of Spain, gathered Dr Tanía Ramirez, Executive Director of the Network for Child Rights in Mexico ; María Fernández, Education Specialist and Patron of Peace and Cooperation; Professor Miguel Pérez, Director of the AH of the Hospital for Children Jesus of Madrid and Carlos Uriarte, Professor of Law at the Rey Juan Carlos University and Patron of Peace and Cooperation.
Several representatives of embassies and associations also attended the conference such as Ashish Cherian Samuel of the Embassy of India; Cristiana Tzika, First Secretary of the Embassy of Cyprus and Nicole Ndongala, Director of the Karibu Association.
E.Guaylupo
Article published in: Galicia Digital y Style International.
