7 ways you can celebrate the International Day of Peace

Established by the United Nations in 1981, the International Day of Peace is celebrated on 21st September. The World Peace Day is an opportunity to explore and engage with what it means to pursue peace and develop an understanding of why it matters. Celebrating World Peace Day is something that can be done privately, as part of a group, or in your wider community.
Here are seven ways that you can celebrate the occasion and promote its importance in building peace.

Observe a minute’s silence
Every World Peace Day at noon local time, people all over the world observe a minute’s silence. Taking a moment to pause and reflect on why peace matters is an important exercise. This can also be an opportunity to reflect on how you can contribute to peace in your daily life.
Sign up to the IEP Positive Peace Academy
The IEP Positive Peace Academy is a free short course that introduces the Positive Peace framework and IEP’s world renowned research. This course equips students with the knowledge and tools needed to contribute to peaceful societal change. Taking the course is a great way to learn how you can contribute to building peace. 

Join a Peace Conference
Peace Conferences and workshops are great ways to mark the occasion and engage with the issues at hand. These events give attendees the opportunity to gain invaluable insights and hear from expert speakers on relevant topics. Visit our events page to explore global peace events from IEP and our partners.
Sign up to Peace One Day
Peace One Day aims to grow the exposure and reach of the International Day of Peace, to ensure that 3 billion people are aware of World Peace Day by 2025. Peace One Day was critical in ensuring the UN institutionalised 21 September as World Peace Day, and it gives people opportunities to engage with educational resources, events and activities, all in pursuit of peace.
Visit Designing Peace at the Cooper Hewitt Museum
IEP’s eight Pillars of Positive Peace are on display at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The Designing Peace exhibition is a fantastic introduction to many of the core concepts of Positive Peace. The exhibition features peacebuilding in action and highlights the role that designing our world (whether through words, buildings or actions) can have on actualising peace. The exhibition runs in-person at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, and digitally on the Cooper Hewitt website, until September 2023. 

Engage in Intercultural Dialogue
Promoting intercultural dialogue is a critical process in ending discrimination. The latest research from IEP, in collaboration with UNESCO, highlights the intrinsic relationship between intercultural dialogue and peace. Currently 89 per cent of all ongoing conflicts occur in countries with low levels of intercultural dialogue. Developing strategies that celebrate diversity and building communication in your local community, (whether through sports, art, workplace events or any other avenue) promotes intercultural dialogue and contributes to peace.

Download the UNESCO Framework for Multicultural Dialogue.
Share the message
Year-on-year awareness surrounding the International Day of Peace continues to grow. Social media can be a powerful tool, enabling people all over the world to connect and share. Spreading the Peace Day message, highlighting stories that promote peace, and telling friends, family and colleagues about World Peace Day is a fantastic way of advocating for peace. These are just some of the many ways in which you can personally get involved.
IEP’s reports and resources are completely free, available to everyone and a great way to learn more about building peace.