The event, held at the Accra International Press Center was tailored in drawing attention on the need to continue to leave at peace and remind the youth of its role in promoting peace especially as the country prepares to go to the December polls.
This year’s International Day of Peace was marked under the theme, SHAPING PEACE TOGETHER-‘The Role of the Youth in Peace Building’. The event brought together a number of young people and stakeholders who stressed on the need to promote peace in the country. At the event, the youth were encouraged to desist from acts that may distort the peace of the country, pointing out to what transpired in Countries like Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Rwanda, because of violence.
Speaking at the event, Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, board member of the National Peace Council, in his key address note stated that, it is a truism, that, the peace that we are all calling for is a collective responsibility. Thus every individual has its part to play. Notwithstanding this fact, the youth has a major role to play in ensuring peace because the youth forms a major part of the population. He further noted that the destiny of the country lies on the shoulders of the youth, and for that matter, the youth has so much power to drive any course.
Mr. Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalist Association also entreats the youth not to allow themselves to be influenced by political extremists to perpetrate violence, especially during an election. Journalists were also cautioned to be fair in their reportage to prevent misinformation and misunderstanding that may lead to violence.
An emblem for peace was outdoor at the event to signify the peace we enjoy as a country and the need to keep holding on to that peace.
The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981. Two decades after, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day a period of non-violence and cease-fire.