On the occasion of United Nations Peace Day, on 21 September, UNIS Vienna participated in an event held in the Museums-Quartier in Vienna. UNIS Vienna partnered with prominent Austrian Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) including the Austria Chapter of the Jane Goodall Institute, VIER PFOTEN and Global 2000, to organize a colourful event that lasted from 1600 hours to 1900 hours in the evening.
Since the target audience was mainly kindergarten and primary school children, activities included the children creating pictorial peace messages for children in Israel/Palestine and South Africa.
UNIS Vienna also procured a button-making machine for the event, which was a great success with the children who queued up to create buttons using various symbols of peace. The word "Peace" in the six UN languages was adapted into a colouring sheet, which the children could then fill in.
Excerpts from the Secretary-General’s message on the occasion were translated into German and read out by the11-year-old Kathi Zawodsky.
Other activities included a dance-music performance by a youth group from Zimbabwe, a musical performance by the childrens choir EuRoots and the popular group "Achtung Liebe!".
More than 300 children from the city of Vienna participated in the event, accompanied by their parents or families. Among other prominent media, the event received coverage in PulsTV, the magazine Falter and the daily Kurier, and other online media.
Another group of NGOs, i.e. Vienna Peace Movement, Women in Black, Global Mothers, Women in Action and the Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East held a commemoration ceremony on the occasion in the Vienna City Centre. Amongst calls for peace and petitions, the message of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was distributed during this event.
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