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Glendale youth celebrate United Nations Peace Day

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Contributed by: Frank Busch on 9/24/2006

Forty youth between ages six and 16 celebrated the United Nations International Day of Peace on Thursday, Sept. 21, at Glendale's historic Oak of Peace in Verdugo Adobe Park.

The commemoration is part of a single-day global effort to highlight the need for peace and tolerance around the world and was one of 3,500 similar events being held in 187 different nations. The Glendale chapter of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) sponsored the event.

Alexis Mathes, 14, a YHRI spokesperson for Glendale, spoke about the history of the United Nations International Day of Peace. Repeating what she had emphasized at the Glendale City Council meeting last Tuesday, Sept. 19, Alexis called upon citizens to "work together and end bullying and intolerance in schools, on playgrounds in the streets and even on the Internet."

"It is up to youth like us in Glendale to make a difference in the future," she said.

Park Ranger Russ Hauck explained that the Oak of Peace at Verdugo Adobe Park was chosen as the site of YHRI's event because it was where, in 1847, Mexico and America signed the landmark treaty ending the Mexican-American War establishing an era of peace and paving the way to California's statehhood in September 1850.

"Oak of peace is considered by many to be the birthplace of the state of California," Hauck stated.

The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 and is celebrated each year to "mark our individual and collective progress, toward building cultures of peace, and serve as a reminder of our permanent commitment to peace above all interests and differences of any kind," according to the United Nations.

The purpose of YHRI, which is supported by the Human Rights Department of
the Church of Scientology International and other human rights-conscious
individuals and organizations, is to teach youth around the globe about human
rights so they become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

For more information visit www.youthforhumanrights.org

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