On September 21st, to celebrate International Peace Day and commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and UNESCO, the 7th Peace Garden Peace Festival was held in the Peace Garden Museum Compound in Beijing. It was jointly organized by the China World Peace Foundation, the Beijing International Peace Culture Foundation and UNESCO, the Beijing Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Beijing Silver Industry Association. State leaders, diplomats in Beijing, government officials, heads of business associations, people from all walks of life and youth representatives from more than 100 countries attended the event. After releasing the doves of peace together and sowing the seeds of peace in the Silk Road Garden, speakers have delivered wonderful speeches on such topics as peace dialogue, civilized health and youth space. UNESCO's official website has published the live broadcast of the event worldwide, and according to incomplete statistics, more than 30,000 people watched the event online at the same time.
The 7th Peace Garden Peace Festival 100 ambassadors released the doves of peace.
Participants unanimously agreed that the "Peace Day" had become a historic event in the United Nations agenda for sustainable development. Human beings are a community of shared destiny with solidarity amid wind and rain. In the face of the new situation of uncertainty, all countries should hope for more inclusive global governance, more effective multilateral mechanisms and more active regional cooperation through peace public welfare, international exchanges, scientific and technological innovation and cultural interaction.
The 7th Peace Garden Peace Festival advocates Silk Road Garden, peace public welfare, international exchanges, scientific & technological innovation, cultural interaction.
Opening the celebration, Dr. Li Ruohong, President of the China World Peace Foundation said: This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and UNESCO, and on the eve of China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, we celebrate these festive days by releasing the Doves of Peace. The theme of this year's Peace Garden Peace Festival is "Peace Dialogue, Civilized Health & Youth Space", and in the face of the spread of the pandemic, the global economic downturn and regional conflicts, we have joined hands to sow the seeds of peace in the Silk Road Garden to promote global governance, cultural interaction, scientific and technological innovation, public health security, protection and dissemination of World Heritage and intangible cultural heritage. Peace public welfare should do not leave behind the original inspiration when marching towards the future.
Entrusted by UNESCO, Dr. Li read out a message from Mdm.Azulay, Director General of UNESCO for International Peace Day in 2020, which emphasized in particular that peace building and safeguarding are a universal mission and a common cause that requires every human being to work tirelessly every day. In a video message, Dr. Shabahang, head of the UNESCO Silk Roads Initiative, thanked the China World Peace Foundation and Dr. Li for their inestimable support and constructive collaboration on UNESCO's different activities and peace projects.
UNESCO's representative in Beijing, Mr.Robert Parua, said that the world faces many serious challenges, so it is important to reaffirm our commitment to building a harmonious and prosperous world on International Peace Day. As highlighted in this year's theme of the Peace Festival, involving and empowering the younger generation into change remains an important course of action to achieve this goal.
Former Egyptian Prime Minister Mr. Essam Sharaf, Mrs. Sujata Koirala, former Prime Minister & Foreign Minister of Nepal; Mr. Mushahid, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of Pakistan each sent a video message for the "Peace Day" and expressed their insights on the international situation and the "Belt and Road" construction.
Algeria's Ambassador to China, Ahcene Boukhelfa, said that since independence in 1962, Algeria has made great efforts to promote peaceful and friendly relations between countries, and launched the "Peaceful Coexistence" initiative at the United Nations, advocating cross-racial, cross-national, transgender, inter-civilization, cross-language peaceful coexistence, harmonious construction, which is tacitly in line with China's proposal to build a "community of shared destiny for humanity".
Mr.Moin Ul Haque, Pakistan's Ambassador to China, said that the choices we make for the safety, health and development of our people are crucial, and that we must constantly strengthen our economic base, social safety network, public health infrastructure, and strive to eradicate poverty, while learning from history and prepare in solidarity for a better future for our next generation.
Mrs.Tania Romualdo,Cape Verde's Ambassador to China, said the global pandemic and global economic downturn had left us facing unprecedented challenges of uncertainty and highlighted the inseparable links between people from all regions of the world. Small island nations such as Cape Verde have also been affected, we are highly dependent on imports and tourism is a pillar industry, thus we specifically are calling on the international community to unite and support each other.
Namibia's Ambassador to China, Mr.Elijah George Kaiyamo, said that the world is undergoing unprecedented profound changes and that we should strengthen solidarity and cooperation in the spirit of building a common home for the future of mankind. The international community needs to work closely with all stakeholders to make the COVID-19 vaccine a public goods and to ensure that it is accessible and affordable for all countries and people.
In his speech, Austrian Ambassador to China Mr.Stift presented that since joining the United Nations in 1955, Austria has assumed peace responsibilities in a multilateral environment and becomes the venue where the peace dialogue took place, with the headquarters of 40 international organizations located in Vienna. The Austrian Overseas Service sends young volunteers to various countries to provide voluntary services. And today, with the testimony of ambassadors, we have reached a cooperation agreement with the Beijing International Peace Culture Foundation, and more than one volunteer will come to Beijing to serve the cause of peace.
Turkmenistan's Ambassador to China, Mr.Prahat Durdyev, said that this year marks the 25th year that the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a special resolution on "Turkmenistan's permanent neutrality" and that we have continued our efforts to maintain peace, stability and development at the national, regional and global levels, coordinate all stakeholders in energy security, launch the "Revival of the Great Silk Road" initiative and participate in the "Belt and Road" initiative. Today, peace-loving Turkmenistan firmly looks to the future, pursues a partnership of respect for mutual trust and builds a peaceful and friendly international environment.
The Palestinian Ambassador to China, Mr. Fariz Mehdawi, said peace was extremely valuable, but regretfully my country had not been able to truly embraced by peace. Only thirsty people know the importance of water. Peace is actually a way of thinking that needs to be nurtured from very young age. In the face of new challenges, the international community has a responsibility to unite and build peace.
Mrs. Shazia Amjad, Principle of the International School of the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing, said peace is dynamic, not static. "World peace" is not just a concept, but a common goal of many countries around the world, and global solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is a best example. This is also the quality that our school values and teaches, and we foster a cooperative and mutually beneficial attitude among our children to become leaders in the future world.
During the event, President Li Ruohong presented on behalf of the organizers the "Peace Ambassador" Medals to the ambassadors of various countries who contributed to the cause of peace, and unveiled four peace public welfare projects, namely, the China-Austria International Volunteer Base, the Beijing International Health and Medical Care Demonstration Base, the International Forum on Women's Happiness and the World Cultural and Arts Project.
The festival also exhibited the winners works of the 2nd Edition "Youth Eyes on Silk Roads" International Photo Contest, in which more than 3,500 works in the 14-17 and 18-25 age groups from all over the world were selected by an international jury of six renowned professional photographers. Mr. Song Gangming, a jury member from China, and Mr.Yu Fenghao, a 15-year-old Chinese winner, have managed to come to the event to share their selection and winning experiences. At the same time, the jury selected 60 works to be exhibited on a global travelling exhibitions in due course, with the first stop in China at the Peace Garden Museum in Beijing and Shanghai Camera Photography Museum from September 21. The Forum also announced the forthcoming launch of the 3rd Edition of Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads International Photo Contest.
This Peace Festival is reportedly organized with the support of the Beijing Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Beijing NGO Network for International Exchanges, China International Friends Research Institute, China Museum Society, Beijing Museum Society, Beijing Chaoyang District Culture & Tourism Bureau, Beijing Photographers Association, undertaken by the Beijing Peace Garden Museum, Beijing Peace Health Development Center, by the Pakistani International School(Embassy), Canadian International School, The Organizing Committee of Women's Happiness International Forum, Henan Changrunqing Health Industry Co., Ltd., Small Diplomats Organizing Committee, associated by the World Cultural and Arts Collaboration Association and ORG Technology Co., Ltd.
