The Words of the Marion Family
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The Words of the Marion Family |
Orsha, Belarus -- The District Executive Committee, the Belarus Peace Foundation, the UN Representative, and the Universal Peace Federation initiated celebrations of peace and brother-cities from September 19-21 in Orsha, one of the biggest cities of Belarus. Among the guests of honor were mayors of cities and districts of Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, and Russia. This was the first celebration of its kind in Orsha.
The program included exhibitions, receptions, and children's drawing competitions. On September 21, in the offices of the District Executive Committee, the Belarus Peace Foundation held a conference reporting the results of the Peace Relay race and a series of peacemaking programs in the Belarus Republic. Marat Yegorov, leader of the Belarus Peace Foundation and an Ambassador for Peace was MC of the program. He emphasized importance of involving young people in peacemaking activities.
On the same day, trees were planted in the historical center of the city, making a Peace Lane. Well-known public leaders including the Chairperson of the City Executive Committee, Nikolai Lisovski, planted trees together with the children of Orsha. Creating the Peace Lane concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative stone inscribed with the date of the International Day of Peace.
Starting from the main square, a peaceful procession of about 10,000 people walked through the city streets. Among the speakers during the program was the head of the UN Public Information Office in Belarus, Victor Radivinovski. He read to the participants the welcoming address on behalf of the UN. Then the Secretary General of the Universal Peace Federation-Russia gave a speech reminding the crowd that "world peace begins with peace in our families and in our minds. Peacemaking activity also promotes character development and helps create stable families within society." He expressed his wish that the authorities of the city would make this celebration a yearly event.
Finally, in the evening, people enjoyed performances by children's artistic groups from Belarus, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
All events throughout the celebration on the International Day of Peace were broadcast by local radio and TV stations. Some programs were shown live.