Our Iraqi Ambassadors celebrate Peace Day 2016
An important part of our Ambassadors for Peace programme is to create a long-term action plan to promote peace-building and reconciliation. In Erbil this June, the young Iraqi men and women chose to commemorate the International Day of Peace with their own Peace Day on Sunday 25th September - Awareness Sunday.
Their plan was to promote peace through demonstrating that peace starts with each one of us. The young Ambassadors worked hard as an ecumenical team, with the support and supervision of Father Boulos (Syrian Orthodox Church) and the Awareness Foundation. Their Peace Day was sponsored by CAPNI (Churches Aid Programme Nohadra - Iraq). Choosing the white rose as a symbol of purity and peace, our Ambassadors decorated 1,500 flowers with ribbons which carried the message, "Peace begins with me".
On Peace Day, the young Iraqis split into four groups, each going to a local church to give peace roses to people as they left after the main service as well as to anyone passing by. This was well received, with many recipients being very touched by the young people's message. A small act can produce a huge impact. As a Foundation, we believe that it is the duty of the young to make the greatest difference.
We were amazed by how the young Christian men and women came together to work on this project, how they supported each other, and how much energy they put into making this event a great success. Now they are planning a new project, buoyed by their achievements on Peace Day! We congratulate each of them. We are proud to work with them, and we thank all of the Ambassadors for Peace for all that they are doing to rebuild their communities.
