Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Reverend Joseph Atherley (left), and United Nations Development Fund spokesman on peace and poverty eradication and president of the Peace Foundation, Adisa Aja Andwele (right) discussing the day of peace initiative. (AM)

FOR ONE MINUTE after midday on Thursday, September 21, 2006, peace and quiet will blanket Barbados.

On that date Barbados will be participating in the International Day of Peace, the result of a United Nations resolution which calls for a day of global ceasefire and non-violence on September 21.

This was revealed at a joint Press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday, Bay Street, St Michael, by the International Foundation for Peace and Poverty Eradication, the United Nations and the Government of Barbados.

The local agent behind getting Barbados involved in the initiative is United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) spokesman on peace and poverty eradication and president of the Peace Foundation, Adisa Aja Andwele.

"This will instil a consciousness that peace is paramount. I have personally experienced the impact of war and I know how destructive it is. We must not become complacent. Barbados cannot become a war zone and this process will ensure that. This is not a coincidence; the time is right and I think we can take the lead," he said.

Andwele said all schools in Barbados would have assemblies on the day focusing on peace.
At the forefront of these assemblies will be the over 500 peace ambassadors who will be asked to return to their respective primary schools to help out.

Also, they will be asking all churches to open on that day and for church bells to signal the start and finish of the minute of peace. In addition, radio stations will be asked to play peaceful music and the call-in programmes to focus on peace issues. Andwele said the initiative would be made annual, with greater plans to come.

Resident Representative for the UNDP, Dr Rosina Wiltshire, said they were pleased to be a part of the event, as well as with Government's role in the initiative.

"This day enables every country to observe and remember love, respect and kindness. In the case of Barbados where there is already peace, we want to re-engage people's hearts and minds. All agencies of the UN will be participating with Government in this activity," she said.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Reverend Joseph Atherley, called Barbados "a virtual oasis of peace" despite the current conflicts and said we could be the model for the world.

"You can call a society to pause for a moment or for a million moments... That exercise seeks to signal to the individual to think about who they are and how they relate to their neighbours. There is always a good time to pause and reflect on where the Lord has led us and where He wants to take us," he said. (CA)