Celebrate Libraries for Peace (L4P) Day, 9/21
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs invites the library and information community to celebrate Libraries for Peace (L4P) Day as the world community observes International Day of Peace on September 21, 2017. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The Day’s theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All” which is based on the TOGETHER global campaign that promotes respect, safety and dignity for everyone forced to flee their homes in search of a better life.
Celebration ideas are found below and more at https://librariesforpeace.org/librariesforpeaceday/.
Act locally, Connect Globally. Join the LIbraries for Peace (L4P) initiative by celebrating L4P Day on September 21st and adding your event at librariesforpeace.org. Here, you can also pledge an action to advance peace, share your library’s story of building peace, and tour the L4P map to view ways that libraries and librarians around the world are advancing peace. Visit librariesforpeace.org for more information on projects and resources, and to add/map, view and/or search activities. Join the movement to build a peaceful and sustainable world!
Please also share on social media using #librariesforpeace #peaceday.
Celebrate
3 ways librarians and friends recommend celebrating:
- Intercultural and interfaith dialogues
- Chalk4Peace http://www.chalk4peace.org/eventinfo.html or the Peace Crane Project Exchange https://peacecraneproject.org/
- Peace-related topics as focus of course curriculum/programs (e.g., Peace Speaks Up http://proyectos.banrepcultural.org/proyecto-paz/ in Spanish; video with English sub-titles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMeaEX6XQHU)
3 ways the UN recommends celebrating:
- A minute of silence at 12 noon on 9/21 (all timezones)
- Welcome and help refugees and migrants in your community
- Global student videoconference on September 15, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, at United Nations Headquarters
Pledge
Pledge your action(s) to advance peace. Consider the following 3 actions:
- CLIA (Community-Library Inter-Action) librariesforpeace.org/clia – hold a community conversation that results in action toward social transformation
- UN Sustainable Development Goals https://librariesforpeace.org/sustainabledevelopment/
- Services for refugees https://publish.illinois.edu/projectwelcome/
Share Stories
Libraries and friends are making a difference in their local communities and contributing to a peaceful and sustainable world. Your story can be anything, including the following 3 activities:
- Creating crafts or a book (e.g., The Relindial cartonera project https://www.ifla.org/node/11456)
- Defining what peace means to you (e.g., https://librariesforpeace.org/perspectives/)
- Conducting research related to peace (e.g., Natalia Bermudez Qvortrrup’s bachelor thesis on libraries and peacebuilding https://fagarkivet-hioa.archive.knowledgearc.net/bitstream/handle/123456789/1021/106.pdf?sequence=1)
Discover
Libraries and friends are joining Libraries for Peace around the globe. You can view the global impact of your fellow colleagues celebrations, pledges, and stories on the L4P map: https://librariesforpeace.org/map/.