Sydney Peace Festival

World Peace has eluded our race for millennia. Although many individuals desire peace and the benefits it will bring to human kind, we find that the general public do not fully comprehend a way forward to peace.

We believe that through appropriate and free public events we can demonstrate the complete unity of life and convey the necessity for right human relationships to prevail in all interactions within our multi-national community and nation.  We have and do intend to work with our governments and institutions in a spirit of helpfulness so that the example is set that there are no them and us in any facet of our citizens lives, believing that bridges need to be built between civil society and government and between civil society and corporations. By including all and excluding none we will demonstrate the unity in diversity that is humankind.

The Sydney Peace festival is held to coincide with the International Day of Peace (September 21) each year.

PEACE FORUMS

The Peace Forum was first held in 2006 and subsequently repeated in 2007 & 2008.  Conducted at Parliament House Sydney, the Peace Forum aimed at forging an interactive and connecting link between our politicians, academics and general public.

It asked searching questions and looked at practical, sensible steps which can be taken collectively with a view to beginning a process which enables us to one day fully realise a culture of peace.  It is aimed at facilitating in building a bridge between the peace practitioners and the politicians. It also aims to create a constructive pathway not only for dialogue and change but also to create a level of recognition that at its core is working together to achieve the same outcome – peace.

The Forum seeks ways to consciously connect and build a culture of peace with non-violence and cooperation as organising principles. Indeed, all our systems of foreign policy, education, politics, business, health, and social welfare can and must be united in seeking, teaching, and living peace. The principles and processes of peace are of paramount importance to the development of a sustainable and life-affirming future.

The purpose of this Peace Forum therefore, is to forge an interactive and connecting link between our politicians, our academics and the general public, via the MFPA.

The hallmarks for success in this event will be the level of bipartisan support achieved amongst the different political parties and stakeholder groups, both in their attendance and their capacity to establish unified plans which all can agree on and support.

PEACE CONCERTS

Held in September 2006, 2009 & 2010, the Sydney Peace Concert was attended by hundreds of people.  Local and international entertainers united to promote world peace with representatives of more than six countries.  The focus of the concert was world peace and celebrating the unity in diversity of our community.  This concert, held at Victoria Park, was opened to the general community at no charge.   It celebrated what has indeed already been achieved in our capacity to live harmoniously in our own local community. To tangibly demonstrate that the similarities are greater than the differences by combining all local cultures together with their different traditions, dances and music but the same universal aim.

Dancers and musicians representing many countries took the stage for the extravaganza which also featured every conceivable musical genre. It is truly a tangible demonstration of the unity which exists within our diverse cultures.

The free concert has a special focus for families, catering to children, with jumping castle, face painting, little peace flags, and clowns.

The hallmarks for success in this event were measured in the degree to which the disparate cultures are represented or the degree to which the event truly reflects our unity in diversity.  At a more quantitative level of course, the level of media attention and levels of audience participation was a measure of success.

PEACE VIGILS

First held in 2006, the Peace Vigil was conducted to unite Sydney with over 170 countries, to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace.  The event spanned over 24hrs and included prayer vigils, the lighting of the World Peace Flame and speeches and participation from an inter-denominational cross-section of Sydney’s religious communities as well as a broad cross-section of politicians from all major political parties and UN representatives.

Representatives from most religious organisations will lead the celebration and call for peace, with voices being added by local and international politicians and members of the Sydney community.

The aim is to unify all the disparate voices, all the different cultures, occupations and roles in this desire for peace into one voice, one call, one Sydney – showing that our mutual desire for a peaceful existence supersedes any differences which may normally exist in our day to day lives.

Our hallmarks for success for this event are many and in some ways qualitative (as is the very issue of peace).  At its core this event will be a success if it manages to unify the message, to draw together the disparate voices into one. Therefore, measures such as the proportion of religious, political and social communities adding their voice to the call for peace will be a key determinant of success.

Carrying this sense of unity out into the even broader community is also an aim, to clearly demonstrate to Sydney, Australia and the world that whilst we may all be different our desire for peace is unifying.  Therefore, performance measures such as obtaining media attention across a range of different cultural medium would be considered a hallmark of success.