New York, Sep 17 2010 12:10PM
In a time-honoured ritual at United Nations Headquarters in New York today Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rang a bell cast from pennies donated by children from 60 nations to inaugurate the annual International Day of Peace, which this year is dedicated to the world's young.
"Young people today are at home with global diversity; they are comfortable in an interconnected world. Yet they are also vulnerable to the forces of extremism," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4769">said before observing a minute of silence and then driving the ringing beam three times into the bell.
"So I say to all governments and our partners: let us do more to give them a world of tolerance and opportunity. And I say to all young people: join us."
A gift from Japan that hangs from a wooden beam in a garden in front of UN Headquarters, the bell has tolled every year in a solemn call for peace since 1981, when the General Assembly established the Day to coincide with its opening session every September.
Flanked by UN Messengers of Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors Midori Goto, Yuna Kim, Anggun, Catarina Furtado, Goedele Liekens and Elie Wiesel, Mr. Ban listened as a children's choir played music.
In his remarks Mr. Ban acknowledged that young people are "impatient, frustrated by poverty, injustice and environmental degradation.
"You are concerned that we, your elders, have not made greater headway against these threats," he added, noting that world leaders will gather for a summit on the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), a series of targets aiming to slash extreme hunger and poverty, maternal and infant mortality, disease and lack of access to education and health services, all by 2015.
"There have been remarkable gains, but we need faster progress – much, much faster. Young people can play a central role."
Mr. Ban then opened a student conference attended by more than 600 young people in a UN hall and hundreds of others linked by video conference sites at UN peacekeeping missions around the world.
Normally marked on 21 September, this year's Headquarters ceremony was brought forward so as not to clash with next week's MDG summit. Other ceremonies around the world will continue up until 21 September.
Sep 17 2010 12:10PM
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