Report provided by Pol Dhuyvetter,
Coordinator of Mayors for Peace in Latin America
and Executive Advisor of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
On August 1, “Making Peace,” a major photo exhibition on the theme of sustainable peace was opened in the busy Ipanema Metro station in Rio de Janeiro, a few days ahead of the Olympic Games and will remain until the UN International Day for Peace on September 21.
Produced by the International Peace Bureau, this exhibition is comprised of 100 panels that aim to educate children and adults alike about the five conditions necessary for peace:
(1) Disarmament and Nonviolence
(2) Conflict Prevention and Resolution
(3) Economic and Social Justice
(4) Human Rights, Law and Democracy and
(5) Environment and Sustainable Development.
If one or more of these elements is weak or missing, peace remains fragile. Visitors are encouraged to examine these five elements in their community and to work together with others in making sure that they are all equally present.
Pol DHuyvetter, who is an Executive Advisor of Mayors for Peace, has worked with Ashley Woods, the curator of the exhibition, to connect with Rio City Hall and other contacts to help promote the exhibition in the 2016 Olympic City and the Mayors for Peace logo has been added to the exhibition.
In 2015, the exhibition was hosted by the City of Ypres, a Mayors for Peace Vice President and it is planned in executive cities of Mayors for Peace in the coming years, namely, Bogotá in 2016, Brussels in 2017and Manchester in 2018.