Programs

International Day for Tolerance

The United Nations has declared 16 November as the International Day for Tolerance and has called upon governments, non-governmental organizations and people everywhere to observe the Day and to undertake initiatives that would advance the cause of Tolerance and the follow-up program of action adopted by the General Assembly.

In a world awash with intolerance, ethno-linguistic rivalries, racism, fundamentalism, terrorism and hatred, we believe that this call “to practice tolerance and live together with one another in peace as good neighbors” could not be more timely.

The Friends of the United Nations Awards Program is a direct response to this call and a way of recognising leadership and excellence in this field and to give greatest scope and meaning to the Day.

The event has traditionally provided an opportunity for the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly to present their Tolerance-Day messages. Messages have also been received from the President of the United States and other distinguished leaders in keeping with the spirit of the day.

Tolerance & Peace through Art

The Friends of the United Nations created an initiative in support of the Decade for the Culture of Peace.

The United Nations has declared 2002/2010 as an International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World. In doing so the United Nations was to remind the world that “while the abolition of war, more than ever a scourge, must remain at the center of the priorities of mankind, this task requires the transformation not only of its institutional structures and manifestations, but also of its deep cultural roots and of the culture of violence and war into a culture of peace.” It also invited governments and peoples everywhere to undertake initiatives and activities that would contribute to the building of a culture of peace.

In keeping with its mission to promote the principles and values of the United Nations Charter and support the work of the Organization the Friends of the United Nations plans to organise Global Campaign around the theme “Building a Culture of Peace and Tolerance through the Arts”. Our aim is to utilise the arts as a tool to inspire, promote and popularize the message for peace and tolerance as outlined by the United Nations.

Ten Ideas for Observing
the International Day for Tolerance

1. Diversity in Your Community
2. Human Rights
3. Do-It-Yourself Tolerance Program
4. No to Violence
5. Ecological, Diversity and Human Diversity
6. Religious Tolerance
7 Current Events
8. Sports and Tolerance
9. Creativity at Work
10. International Link-ups

These guidelines are intended to stimulate creative thinking in municipalities and parliaments, schools and universities, clubs and associations, work places, non governmental organizations, and the media in Member States of every region, toward the observance of the annual International Day for Tolerance on 16 November.

At the initiative of UNESCO, 1995 was declared the United Nations Year for Tolerance, and it saw the launching of a world-wide campaign for tolerance and non-violence. The International Day for Tolerance grew out of the momentum of that Year.

Building tolerance and trust in diverse communities is not done overnight, but takes time and commitment. Building tolerance requires access to education. Intolerance is often rooted in ignorance and fear; fear of the unknown, of the other, other cultures, religions and nations. Intolerance is also closely linked to an exaggerated sense of self-worth and pride: notions taught and learned at an early age. Therefore in coming years, we need to place greater emphasis on educating children about tolerance, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

But we should not forget that education does not end in school, that adults - Firstly as individuals capable of committing acts of intolerance but more importantly in their capacity as parents, law-makers and law-enforcement officials - also need to be considered a priority target of our educational efforts.

The MILESTONES Project

The MILESTONES Project Is a photographic tribute to our shared humanity. It is a living, growing archive of over 20,000 photographs that assert, powerfully and indisputably, our fundamental human similarities. Picture infants from every corner of the world, aglow with Joy, their faces lit by a single birthday candle. Picture children of every nationality, eyes squeezed tight in nervous excitement, as a scissor trims away their baby curls. Picture children in urban streets and rutted, rural roads, walking hand In hand with a best friend. Who cannot see herself in these images? Who cannot feel the brotherhood of man?

But photographs alone cannot heal the worlds divisions. Healing requires action, and that is why these photographs reproduced in books, exhibits and on a website, disseminated through partnerships with schools, foundations and corporations are more than arresting, heartwarming images. They are the backbone of a global social movement. They are at the heart of a campaign endorsed by the United Nations that enables individuals around the world to take concrete action to promote tolerance.

WHAT WILL WE DO: MISSION OF PEACE ON EARTH

As partners and supporters of this campaign, together we will utilize the Arts as a tool to inspire, promote, popularize and sustain the message of peace and tolerance as outlined by the United Nations. We will demonstrate the support of the arts community in the work for world peace and affirm their contribution to building a culture of peace and nonviolence. We will mobilize the arts and cultural communities of each participating country to promote and support the mission and activities of the United Nations. We will mobilize and empower youth in accessing the power of the Arts as a vehicle for expressing their unique cultural identity and their vision of global harmony, we will heighten the awareness ol people everywhere to their respective cultural identities as well as empower them to see themselves as a wider global community.

“Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of peace.”

HOW WILL WE DO IT

These are the aims and objectives of Peace on Earth, and together we will achieve them. We will generate global awareness towards the social, environmental and spiritual benefits of the arts and artists and their potential contribution to global peace. We will reinforce the use of arts for humanity’s sake and for life’s sake as we move from Art for Art’s sake. We will emphasize multiculturalism while preserving the essence of (local) traditional cultures. We will picture a world where digital murals and otfier aesthetic expressions are encouraging global harmony and world peace to creole a global network and culture of Peace and Tolerance. We will launch further projects and programs that will contribute to the vision of Art as a Global Peace Expression. We will assure success by creating and empowering an effective organization featuring a Patron’s Group, Sponsor’s Group, International Advisory Board, Board of Directors ond Participating Countries.

“If the human family is to have any hope of living together in peace, we must come to know and accept one another. Let us recognize the work for tolerance begins with each and every one of us.”

Over the next two years, three high-profile media products will tell the story of the United Nations’ Sergio Vieira de Mello and introduce audiences to the kind of conviction and insight that inspires movements. In the months ahead we’ll be using the momentum generated by these products – a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power, a compelling feature length documentary, and a major motion picture – to embark on a new campaign designed to educate Americans on Sergio’s life and lessons… and to use his story to ignite a dynamic constituency that demands a smarter foreign policy for the United States.

Please join us at www.chasingtheflame.org where Power will join an eclectic group of scholars, activists, humanitarians and citizens from around the world to reflect on Sergio’s life and legacy, provoke debate, and discuss how this movement can have the greatest impact possible.