In observance of the International Day of Peace and as part of the activities designed by the Joint United Nations Human Security Programme, young volunteers involved in the “Youth Volunteerism for Peacebuilding and Disarmament: Youth Measuring Community Security Through Participatory Indicators” project led various initiatives to promote peace and to raise awareness about disarmament in the “Youth for Peace” Festival. In 2001, the General Assembly declared the 21st September, the day for encouraging peacebuilding ideas among nations and peoples, as a day of non-violence and ceasefire.
This Festival, therefore, not only met the objective of empowering the more than 60 young volunteers involved in the project, but also represented a forum for interaction with the community, one in which the volunteers shared the knowledge acquired during their training. Activities were developed based on four central themes: the 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, peace and disarmament.
In particular, interventions were held, such as the “Journey for Peace” photo exhibition, where there was a display of the activities that the Joint United Nations Human Security Programme has been developing in Trujillo since 2014. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals were presented in an entertaining way, with members of the audience being rewarded for their involvement with tokens designed by the volunteers.
One of the most popular activities was the graphic reinterpretation of the winning entries of the “United Nations Posters for Peace” Competition where attendees were invited to draw their own version of peace and disarmament.
At the same time, there were artistic productions such as a skit, a dance performance and a participatory mural, where members of the public were invited to leave their mark as a sign of their commitment to the creation of a safe and peaceful community. Both the event and the Festival were brought to a close in grand style with a flashmob, also involving young people from the three target communes of the Joint Human Security Programme and the Cultural Association D1 with the piece “Stories of Fire,” which addresses the risks and consequences of illegal trafficking and armed violence.
Source: UNLIREC