Global to local: the people’s rights to peace

The organisation will co-host with the United Nations Association of South Africa (UNASA) and the South African Peace Alliance.

National project co-ordinator for UNASA, Holly McGurk said, “This is the first time we are hosting such a Peace Forum event with WCNCPD. The first one was just for the members of the WCNCPD to create links between the members. This year it is open to other organisations and people working for peace in the Gugulethu community.”

The event will celebrate World Peace Day (which is on 21 September), a day that has been dedicated to peace and the absence of violence and war all over the world since 1982. The event will be attended by NGOs, community stakeholders, students and other people who work towards creating peaceful communities in the Western Cape.

The participants will engage in peace talks, productive ways of preventing violence in communities and will be sharing their positive experiences and the lessons they have learned from their peace work.

Interactive activities such as the Peace and Reconciliation Labyrinth and voting for development priorities in the UN’s My World Survey will also take place.

In a statement. ‘Global to local: the people’s rights to peace’, UNASA’s stated aim is to create awareness for the new Sustainable Development Goals, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals next year, and the inclusion of a goal on peace and security.

“The millennium development goals reach their deadline in 2015, so the UN member states are debating what goals should replace them. These goals will be called the sustainable development goals.” said McGurk.