For a culture of Peace

Divaldo Franco was 70 when he decided to start a new project in his life. Thus, 17 years ago, the “Movement You and Peace” was born in Londrina on the evening of March 10^th, when the known psychic visited this city. (About the event on the 10^th, read the special report published in this issue.)

Two years later the “Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence” was published. This movement was outlined, at the invitation of UNESCO, by a group awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. Millions of people around the world have signed the manifesto and pledged to meet the six points, trying to act in the spirit of the culture of peace within their families, in their professional environment and in their cities.

In sequence the United Nations General Assembly declared the period 2001-2010 the "International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World". 

The six points listed in the Manifesto are:

1. Respect Life

2. Reject violence

3. Be generous

4. Listen to be able to understand

5. Preserving the planet

6. Rediscover solidarity.

To achieve these goals, UNESCO works cooperating with governments in their three levels, with the legislature power and civil society, thus building a huge network of partnerships, mobilizing society, raising awareness and educating for a culture of peace.

In Rio de Janeiro, for example, UNESCO is developing, in partnership with the State Government, the program "Schools of Peace", and their main purpose is to give young people opportunities to attend, while seeking to educate them regarding the relevant values ​​of life, for peace and for the building of citizenship.

The main purpose is to make real the values of the Culture of Peace in our daily life, as well as the challenges proposed.

To develop the six points signed in the Manifesto means preparing the conditions for Peace on Earth. This implies in:

• respect the life and dignity of every person without discrimination or prejudice;
• practice nonviolence actively, rejecting all forms of violence: physical, sexual, psychological, economic and social, in particular against the weak and vulnerable, such as children and teenagers;
• share our time and our material resources, developing generosity in order to end the exclusion, injustice and political and economic oppression;
• defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, always giving priority to listening and dialogue, without engaging in fanaticism, or to slander and rejection of others;
• promote responsible consumption and a development model that takes into account the importance of all forms of life and the balance of the planet's natural resources;
• concur to the development of the community, providing the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, to create new forms of solidarity.

This is a program that lines up with what we learned from the lessons of the Gospel and Spiritist teachings.

We all know that it is a herculean task and of course slow.

But we also know that the essential elements are there to suppress from our planet war, oppression, tyranny and all forms of violence. It is a non-stop march towards a promising future foretold by Jesus, who once declared that the meek shall inherit the Earth.