The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September.

The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982.

In 2001, the General Assembly by unanimous vote established 21 September as an annual day of non-violence and cease-fire.

The international celebration challenges people around the world to find ways of cultivating peace within their community.

For the second year, the Cayman Islands will join millions of people across the world to observe a day during which people put their differences aside to promote peace and abstain from any form of violence on Saturday. As part of the day-long celebration, the Family Resource Centre (FRC) has two major events lined up.

From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at an event titled Cultivate Peace, persons will build a Peace Garden at Airport Park. Voluntary service clubs such as Rotary Sunrise, Rotary Club of Grand Cayman, Rotary Central and Rotaract Blue have all agreed to unite for peace and help with funds, volunteers and dancers.

Inmates from HMP Northward are working to create six park benches that will help create a nice area for parents to sit while their kids play. Department of Agriculture will be donating the plants and trees.

On the day, children are also welcome to attend and paint rocks that will make up the perimeter around the park. The event will also feature live musical performances by One World Entertainment. Families, individuals and other organisations are encouraged to take part.

The United Nations has called for One Day. One Dance and challenged countries around the world to take part. Since dance has been identified as a powerful vehicle for peace, in the midst of all the celebration at Airport Park at 12:00 p.m, participants will gather for a flash mob dance choreographed by Mariela Alvarado from Life Extension. From this, a video will be created by Ben Hudson. A preview of the dance can be found on Youtube.

Encouraging public participation, FRC Programme Coordinator Miriam Foster said, “Music and dancing are fun ways to bring people together. So as we work to beautify the park, we will also be able to enjoy added entertainment.”

To encourage student participation, each school has been given a piece of a large puzzle in the shape of the Cayman Islands designed by Randy Chollette and Luelan Bodden. During the event, one student from each school will join the puzzle pieces together. The final look of the puzzle will be on display permanently at Airport Park – to show that every school is a representation for peace.  A mosaic section will also allow art lovers to develop a unique visual representation of peace.

Commenting on the inspiration behind Cultivate Peace, Foster said: “Education about non-violence should start at home. But it is every single community member’s responsibility to model how we treat each other with tolerance and respect and work toward peace. It has been amazing to see so many people and organisations come together to work for peace and we hope the public will take part.”

For more information on Peace Day, contact the Family Resource Centre at 949-0006 or visit www.facebook.com/familyresourcecentre.