Gloucestershire's 1st Peace Festival
The festival took place from 15th September - 21st September. The whole week was centered around the Internationally acclaimed “Gandhi, King, Ikeda - Peacebuilders” exhibition.This is about the lives of these three men from different backgrounds who have brought about change in the world through non-violence and self empowerment.
We took the exhibition into 5 schools. Each school had the exhibition for a day and held their own mini peace festival. Over two thousand pupils saw the exhibition and worked with the themes of it. The schools arranged a fantastic variety of activities . There were trips out to a Hindu Temple and a Halocaust exhibition. Different faiths were invited to run introductory workshops. One hundred pupils learnt to chant in the Buddhist sessions. Pupils tried their hand at writing and producing a newspaper and a radio broadcast. There were opportunities to use creative mediums to explore peace e.g Drama, art, writing songs, poetry, sculpture from recycled materials. A peace garden was built.
This is what the pupils said :
“ I would like to see more things like this in schools.”
“Today I have had a brilliant day! It makes me think how amazing people can be when they are fighting for what they believe in.”
“Today has had a big effect on me. It has opened my eyes to this whole peace idea”
Howard Jones visited three schools and helped their choirs learn “For the sake of Peace”. One hundred and thirty pupils came together to sing this at the World Peace Day celebration at Cheltenham Town Hall. It was very moving to hear young people sing this vow of peace.
The public had an opportunity to see the exhibition and stalls from local groups and charities at the World Peace Day celebration. The evening celebration was a mixture of short inspirational presentations, moving youth drama and an eclectic mix of musical talent. It was an uplifting and joy filled occasion.
We took the exhibition into 5 schools. Each school had the exhibition for a day and held their own mini peace festival. Over two thousand pupils saw the exhibition and worked with the themes of it. The schools arranged a fantastic variety of activities . There were trips out to a Hindu Temple and a Halocaust exhibition. Different faiths were invited to run introductory workshops. One hundred pupils learnt to chant in the Buddhist sessions. Pupils tried their hand at writing and producing a newspaper and a radio broadcast. There were opportunities to use creative mediums to explore peace e.g Drama, art, writing songs, poetry, sculpture from recycled materials. A peace garden was built.
This is what the pupils said :
“ I would like to see more things like this in schools.”
“Today I have had a brilliant day! It makes me think how amazing people can be when they are fighting for what they believe in.”
“Today has had a big effect on me. It has opened my eyes to this whole peace idea”
Howard Jones visited three schools and helped their choirs learn “For the sake of Peace”. One hundred and thirty pupils came together to sing this at the World Peace Day celebration at Cheltenham Town Hall. It was very moving to hear young people sing this vow of peace.
The public had an opportunity to see the exhibition and stalls from local groups and charities at the World Peace Day celebration. The evening celebration was a mixture of short inspirational presentations, moving youth drama and an eclectic mix of musical talent. It was an uplifting and joy filled occasion.
