Culture and Media

Almost 1,000 square metres of fabric sewn together by the young people of GPace formed the biggest peace flag in the world. The multicoloured cloth was laid out on Saturday November 14 on Lecce’s beautiful Piazza Duomo. The event was part of the ‘More Fun No More War’ campaign which condemns the terrible reality of child soldiers.

Just like the World March, the cinematic series “Nonviolence goes to the movies” continues its journey. Each film takes the viewer away, leads them to discover new locations, people, countries, cultures, but also takes them on a journey to discover their own feelings and challenges them to figure out their purpose….

Under a burning sun, 700 young graffiti artists and muralists devoted themselves to the visual representation of their ideas on peace, nuclear disarmament, and the rejection of violence. The activity, promoted by World Without Wars, took place over a period of three days, until all 1,800 meters of the wall, located in a town in the foothills of Santiago de Chile, were covered.

Exactly one year ago, Pressenza was relaunched as an international press agency exclusively dedicated to peace and non-violence. The place and the occasion could not have been more inspirational. We were in the Park for Study and Reflection in Punta de Vacas, on the mountain frontier between Argentina and Chile for the symposium “Ethics in Knowledge”.

I had the honor to participate in the X Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Berlin 10-11 November. The Summit, entitled “Breaking down new walls and building bridges to ensure a World of Human Rights and a World without violence” brought together Nobel laureates who have made a significant contribution in breaking down the walls of conflict, poverty and human rights violations.

International music legend Annie Lennox will be presented with the Woman of Peace Award by former Soviet President and 1990 Nobel Peace Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev at the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates meeting in Berlin Nov.10 and 11. Lennox was chosen by 22 Nobel Peace Laureates for her work in raising awareness of the HIV/AIDS impact on women and children.

The artists will cover a 1,000 meter long wall, located in Santiago de Chile, with graphics on the themes of peace, nonviolence, and nuclear disarmament. Something never seen before!… The current Guinness record, set in 2007 for a 700 meter long wall created in Spain, is not even remotely the principal motivation for the participants, but it will be broken.

Yesterday, November 11, a celebratory and colourful parade made its way through Florence together with the marchers for Peace and Nonviolence. At least 5000 people from all over Tuscany snaked through the streets of the centre of Florence to accompany the marchers, who were making a stop in the Tuscan regional capital.

Yesterday a delegation of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence reached Torino to be extremely warmly welcomed by 1600 people gathered in the Regio Theatre where an internationally renowned classical concert was held. Earlier in Novara the marchers endorsed a declaration denouncing the intention of the Italian government to buy 131 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence made a stop in Geneva on Monday. Geneva Mayor, Rémy Pagani, expressed his support for the march and denounced the current global figure of 1.5 trillion dollars in military spending, as well as Switzerland’s own hypocrisy. Dani Horowitz proclaimed “We cannot justify creating employment at the expense of other people’s lives.”