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United Nations Charter:
Preamble
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS
to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and
to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,
– Signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco
AA[[ Buy a full copy of the UN Charter here
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A Question of Peace
“Sanskrit has 108 words for Love. Islam has 99 names for God. Japanese has 14 words for Beauty. We’ve got one word for Peace. We don’t have enough words to accurately describe all the different types of peace. I think it was Socrates who once said, ‘If you don’t have a word to describe something, then how can you think about it?’”
– Steve Killelea
From the Institute for Economics and Peace:
As a global philanthropist, Steve Killelea has
laid the
foundations to
develop an entirely new understanding of peace.
As a thought leader, he has reshaped the entire concept to recognize its integrity to the revival of our economic and political systems. Few have provoked global thought amongst both policymakers and members of the public quite to the extent of Steve. He combines a highly successful career in technology with a philanthropic focus on peace and sustainable development to shed new light on issues, from terrorism and conflict to economics and
prosperity.
Listen to Steve Killelea’s Peace Podcast #77.
What is peace to you?
Peace is food and a warm bed
Peace is work that pays the rent Peace is medicine for a sick child
Peace is friends in time of loss
Peace is kind words on a dark night Peace is clean air and sunshine
Peace is rain enough for rice Peace is wild spaces for animals Peace is safe schools for children
Peace is families and gardens Peace is musicians playing in plazas Peace is church bells calling Peace is laughter and joy Peace is love and respect Peace is a healthy, living planet
Peace is our home, … where we all come from.
by Joyce Wycoff
Robert Muller was an idea generator, capturing ideas morning, noon and night. His website has documented 4000 of his ideas and there are thousands more to be archived. We thought it would be interesting to capture a sampling here. Idea #3, July, 1994: The human species represents an extraordinary progress of evolution on this planet. It will be even more astonishing, provided we weed out the mistakes and wrong objectives which went to our heads: enrichment, armaments, national sovereignty, militarization, overconsumption, waste on colossal scales, destruction of other species and of nature, violence, materialism, racial and sexual discrimination, overpopulation, extreme wealth side by side with extreme poverty, etc.
These evils and wrong courses have been well identified by the United Nations, the planet-wide, human-wide evolutionary meta-organism. Our mistakes must be corrected not only globally, but continentally, nationally, locally and individually. I recommend that each human being consult his/her heart and select one or several of these mistakes and work hard on their correction and elimination. Idea #29, August, 1994: Each human being should realize that he or she is first of all a child of God, a citizen of the world and a member of the human family before being a member of a nation or of any other man-made group. Idea 199, January 1995: A World Environmental Court should be created with jurisdiction over damages done to the environment and empowered to inflict charges, reparations and fines. Idea 592, February 1996: Isn't it a strange planet where people value and admire more a forest of dead matter, oxygen consuming skyscrapers than a forest of live, oxygen producing trees? Idea 1777: Someone said, "Do not have little dreams. They have no magic." I say, "Have little dreams and big dreams, have local dreams and global dreams. Together they are artisans of a better world."
**** more to come *****
An Agenda For The Future
Our absolute priorities and objectives for the 21st century and the third millennium should be:
1. To make this planet a paradise 2. To stop destroying nature at all cost 3. To eradicate from it all the poverty, miseries and errors engendered by power, greed and egotism 4. To make out of all humans one united, cooperating family 5. To create a new social, political world order for the centuries to come
6. To attain a life of fulfillment and
happiness for all humans 7. To achieve a human family in harmony with the Earth and the heavens 8. To be the ultimate cosmic success of
the Universe and God.
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Crestline, CA: International City of Peace #351
On March 14, 2022, Crestline, California, USA, joined the growing list of Cities of Peace.
A key objective for Karyn and Rudy Westervelt, initiators of the local project, was to create a broad-based program that would include leaders from all aspects of the Crestline community. Using the principles from the International City of Peace vision: Safety, Prosperity and Quality of Life, they began to invite community leaders into the process of applying for membership as well as developing and announcing the program.
International Cities of Peace, which is an all-volunteer, altruistic yet practical organization, now has 356 member cities and offers this vision: IMAGINE a world of cities dedicated to expanding their local peace economy and encouraging a global culture of peace. Safety, prosperity, and quality of life are universal values that bring peace to our lives.
Crestline is a small, scenic lake town in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. After researching the history and needs of Crestline, the project team obtained signatures from residents and submitted the application which was accepted. The team invited leaders to talk about fire and safety issues, the needs of community youth and local businesses, charitable programs, and development projects for the area and the lake. The program was officially launched on a sunny day on a deck overlooking Lake George and attendees included: - A lieutenant from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs’ station. - A battalion chief from the local fire station. - The CEO of the Boys and Girls Club. - CEO of the Crestline Chamber of Commerce. - The manager of the local supermarket. - The manager of Lake Gregory Company. - A local pastor. - The County Supervisor, Janice Rutherford.
Since the launch of this program, the group has begun to sponsor community projects such as a clean up day which attracted sixty people including elementary students, and the creation of a community organizing committee to brainstorm ideas for the future.
More information about becoming an International City of Peace.
What Is the Cost of War?
… not the dead … not the lost children, mothers, grandmothers, fathers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles and cousins … not the rubble where once there were homes, businesses, parks and music, art, and singing … not the farms and factories where people worked growing our food, making our shoes … not the trees freshening our air nor the flowers giving us hope. all of these we will grieve, rebuild, regrow, and renew. the wound that will never heal is witnessing, participating in, whether near or far, our descent into savagery, our teaching … our forcing, young women and men to become beasts of war, rotting their souls with hate, labeling others as vermin to be eliminated in this game of greed, this lust for land, this passion for power. This shame, this blood red stain, will travel down generations, cost more than can be calculated, raping the goddess of trust, leaving only hate on barren soil.
Or, the exuberant joy of flowers in peacetime …
where children dance, safe and free?
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The foundation of peace is Gratitude
Newly Released: Spiral bound journal workbook, over 200 8 1/2" x 11" pages on high quality paper, What if the only way to bring peace to the world is to bring true peace to our own hearts?
Building on the latest neuroscience studies: Gratitude Mojo: in only minutes a day guides you step-by-step through 26-weeks of self discovery using engaging questions, simple exercises, and over 200 insights from the world’s wisdom leaders, to transform self-sabotaging thought habits into powerful life mindsets
For more information, or to see sample pages, and to order your own Gratitude Mojo journal/workbook: go to …
http://GratitudeMojo.com
Buddhist philosopher, educator and leader; the other a UN diplomat renowned for his international work in peace, development and human rights – these interlocutors are united in their search for RotaryEClubOfWoldPeace.orgjustice and better quality of life for all and their conviction that women and young people are the most effective means to achieving positive change in the world.
Click here for more info.
Anwarul K. Chowdhury is the former Senior Special Advisor to the UN General Assembly President. He has held several positions and diplomatic duties for the UN. Daisaku Ikeda is an author, leading Buddhist thinker, activist, and advocate for global peace.
The culture of peace and non-violence is essential to human existence, development and progress. In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus the norm-setting, forward-looking “Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”. Governments, institutions, NGOs, other civil society entities and, in particular, individuals – all are encouraged therein to contribute to the global movement for the culture of peace.
Related to this vision, this rich and varied dialogue discusses how the culture of peace can be achieved in the world. Based on the extensive personal and professional experiences of two highprofile thinkers and activists, they analyse the challenges unfolding at local, national and global levels and how these relate to humanity's quest for peace, human security and happiness. Although coming from very different positions – one a
The dialogue provides ideas on the key challenges that face our planet: poverty and deprivation, war and violence, nuclear weapons and small arms, climate change and environmental degradation, weak governance and financial crises, marginalization of women and alienation of youth and the relentless drive for materialism. They also invite us to consider how the culture of peace can be practically achieved through an individual, collective and institutional transformation.
Recognizing that global citizenship, multilateralism, women's equality and value-creating education are central and inter-linked themes, this dialogue also underscores the inherent strength of spirituality, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, respect for diversity and empowerment that comes from the trials and tribulations of life. – from amazon.com
“The world does not need a war against ‘terrorism’, it needs a culture of peace based on human rights for all.”
– Irene Khan
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by Sanford Hinden
We are all at an important change point in life on Earth. We need to find new and better ways to live our lives. We need to be super inventive, experiment, upgrade and improve our solutions. To help this process, I put together this image to inspire people to rapidly participate in the massive bio-regeneration of Earth. Here is what I see. - We need to change our agricultural methods to lower nitrous oxide emissions. - Fossil fuels need to be left in the ground and we need to immediately support alternative energy expansion. - Meat-eating needs to be reduced to lower the methane produced by animals. - Forests needs to be managed better to reduce fires that cause CO2 to be released. There are fires burning in Siberia that will produce methane releases from thawing permafrost. - The Earth is vast—but it is also finite. Peace of Wild Things As human development has expanded to meet the needs of a growing population, far too much of nature has been lost or degraded. This degradation is a major driver of climate change as well as species loss—and both crises pose serious threats to people. We need to preserve natural habitats. - Just 9% of all plastic waste ever created has been recycled. Plastic production will increase by 40% in the next 10 years. If we don't do anything about the plastic soup, oceans will carry more plastic than fish by weight by 2050. The United Nations warns that marine life will be irreparably destroyed. Coral reefs appear to be particularly vulnerable to plastic pollution. Much of the new supermarket plastic packaging can be replaced by lite cardboard. - We will need to find new ways to clean our oceans.
I will be hosting a series of meetings to explore what people are doing around the world in these 7 areas. Contact me if you want to participate …
