On September 21 the world observes the International Day of Peace and Ukraine's Day of Peace.
On 7 September 2001 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution No. 55/282, which stated that the day would be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non‑violence, calling on all states and peoples to observe a cessation of hostilities during that day.
To reaffirm Ukraine's commitment to the ideals of peace and in support of the UN General Assembly's decision, Presidential Decree No. 100/2002 of 5 February 2002 established a Day of Peace, to be observed annually on 21 September — the International Day of Peace.
Each year events are held on this day, traditionally including the Peace March, first held in 1986. An integral part of the ceremonies is the tolling of the Bell of Peace and a minute of silence in memory of those who died in armed conflicts.
For Ukrainians, peace has become more than merely stopping the shooting; it is a struggle for the right to live in their own state, to speak their native language, to study their history, and to feel secure.
Ukraine pays an extremely high price for the right to live in peace — tens of thousands of civilians and servicemembers killed, hundreds of thousands wounded and maimed, millions of shattered lives, and towns and villages destroyed.
"Peace is the most desired and the most controversial topic in Ukrainian society. Why desired? We live under conditions of war, waking and sleeping to air raid alerts. So we understandably yearn for calm and harmony, which are so lacking now. Why controversial? There are different ways of interpreting this topic, some of which conceive of peace as accepting defeat and the cessation of hostilities," says Aliona Horova, Chair of the Board of IMiP.
For some, a peaceful life is ordinary; for Ukrainians it is a dream. Every day we fight for the right to live under a peaceful sky on free land. Today peace has special importance, and our people feel that deeply.
Today many questions arise about each person's role in bringing peace to Ukraine. Those who are not part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can also significantly affect the peacebuilding process. For example, by contributing to the resilience of Ukrainian society. Resilience is about cohesion, trust in one another, mutual responsibility, shared endeavors, and distributing difficult tasks.
This is the focus of our organization's work. At IMiP we work to strengthen competencies and our ability to be resilient and united.