Peace is Possible. It Takes Action. It Takes All of Us.
The Peace Day Challenge exists to raise the profile of the International Day of Peace and to affirm peace as a real alternative to the violence we see every day in the news.
Peace Day Challenge
September 21 is the International Day of Peace
It is all about inspiring a day of action on September 21, focused on building peace through real-life activities and sharing on social media at #PeaceDayChallenge.
Since launching in 2015, the Peace Day Challenge has reached 148 countries and all 50 U.S. states, engaged hundreds of schools and dozens of organizations, and inspired social media posts from high-profile individuals and a broad public audience reaching tens of millions of people.
Join Us Now: The Peace Day Challenge Mosaic
Show how you’re doing your part for peace. Take an action for peace and share a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using #PeaceDayChallenge. You can upload your photo using the upload button on the mosaic until October 2!
The photo you share will be added to the mosaic of all the inspiring things we are doing together to create a more peaceful world.
Peace is possible. It takes action. It takes all of us.
Ideas for Action
- Help defuse or resolve a disagreement.
- Engage in an act of volunteerism or service to help those in need.
- Hold an event in your community to mark the International Day of Peace and raise awareness about peace issues that matter to you.
- Spread the word about an organization that's working to help people affected by violent conflict.
- If you are in Washington, DC, walk the Peace Trail on the National Mall to learn about peace through history.
Shareable Graphics
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More Ideas for Action
Students
- Help defuse or resolve a disagreement—in class or at home.
- Show kindness to someone in your school or community who needs it.
- Share a meal with a student from a different country.
- Speak up when you see someone being intolerant or being a bully.
- Post messages of peace around your school.
- Engage in an act of volunteerism or service to help those in need or to make another positive difference that promotes peace locally or globally.
- Challenge people from your school to commit to 24 hours of peace on September 21st.
- Organize an event at your school to mark the International Day of Peace – it can be a school-wide assembly, a peace walk, an evening event, or a lunchtime program to highlight peace themes, draw attention to the day, and spark further conversation among the students.
- Create a Peace Club in your school or community, to educate yourselves about peacebuilding, gain new skills, and identify ways to take action! Find out how with our Starter Kit!
- Read a book about peace to a younger sibling or neighbor.
- Find a quote about peace that inspires you to act, and share the quote and the action using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- Make a personal pledge to be a peacebuilder from now on, by seeking nonviolent ways to manage conflict and by seeking out opportunities to take positive action for peace in your community and in the world.
- Create a “peace pledge” for your school or organization or community, expressing your values and your commitment to taking action to build peace going forward.
- Create or contribute to a piece of public art, like chalk drawings or a mural, to raise awareness in your school and community about the International Day of Peace.
- Make a video about a peace-related issue that matters to you and why; spread the word by sharing it with others on social media.
- ABOVE ALL: Take a picture of your action and share it using #PeaceDayChallenge, and upload it at USIP.org/peacedaymosaic to join the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic 2019?
Teachers
Organize an event at your school to mark the International Day of Peace – it can be a school-wide assembly, a peace walk, a fundraising activity, an evening event, or a lunchtime program to highlight peace themes, draw attention to the day, and encourage conversation among the students.
- Sign up for the USIP & Inspired Classroom Challenge to engage your students in developing awareness campaigns about peacebuilding initiatives happening around the world.
- Encourage your students to take collective action on September 21st around an important issue to advance peace in their school, community, or world.
- Support your students in organizing a Peace Club as a means for sustained learning and action for peace.
- Download the Poster Teaching Guide for the Peace Day Challenge and use the lesson plans for your students.
- Explore perceptions of peace through Lesson 1.2 in the Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – High School Version and Middle School Version.
- Encourage students to research peace symbols in the U.S. and in other parts of the world and ask them to design their own peace symbols in small groups.
- Discuss and analyze popular songs or movies with peace messages.
- Have students work in small groups to research proverbs around the world about peace and select one to present to the class. They can present the meaning of the proverb as a human statue, a drawing, or in some other way.
- Introduce your students to the process and skills of mediation using Lesson 2.9 in the Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – High School Version and Lesson 2.4E in the Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – Middle School Version.
- Check your students’ knowledge of peacebuilders and challenge them to learn more about individual peacebuilders in Lesson 3.1 of the Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – High School Version and Middle School Version.
- Help your students identify international, national, and local peace organizations and ways to support them in Lesson 3.2 of the Peacebuilding Toolkit for Educators – High School Version and Lesson 3.3 of the Middle School Version.
- Work as a school community to construct a symbol of peace—such as folding paper cranes, planting olive trees, or designing a peace path or peace garden—to serve as a reminder to pursue peace.
- On your own, with colleagues, or with your students, make a video about a peace-related issue that matters to you and why; spread the word by sharing it with others on social media using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- Bring stories of peacebuilders from around the world into your classroom through multimedia resources from USIP.
- ABOVE ALL: Take a picture of your action and share it using #PeaceDayChallenge, and upload it at USIP.org/peacedaymosaic to join the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic 2019!
Organizations
Spread the word in your office and encourage the whole team to participate in taking an action for peace and posting a photo using #PeaceDayChallenge!
- Use our social media kit to amplify the message, raise awareness of the day and encourage broad participation in action for peace!
- Put a banner on your webpage linking to www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- Use September 21st as an opportunity to highlight some of the year-round activities your organization does to support peace using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- Organize an event to mark the International Day of Peace and raise awareness of a peace issue that matters to your staff or your members/network. There are many formats to choose from—a film screening, a book club discussion, a poetry reading, a public forum with a guest speaker, an inter-generational teach-in, a bake sale or other fundraising event to raise money for an organization that is working to help those affected by violent conflict, etc.
- Create or promote a group volunteer opportunity that will contribute to positive change in your local community, and encourage your staff and networks to join.
- Create an award or other form of recognition for local peacebuilders who are making a difference in your community.
- In your organization, make a video about a peace-related issue that matters to you and why; spread the word by sharing it with others on social media using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- In your organization, find a quote about peace that inspires you to act, or find/create an image that represents your vision for peace, and share as inspiration for others using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- ABOVE ALL: Take a picture of your action and share it using #PeaceDayChallenge, and upload it at USIP.org/peacedaymosaic to join the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic 2019!
Faith Leaders
- Invite other faith leaders in your community or country to share in an inter-faith event to mark the International Day of Peace.
- Arrange a pot-luck dinner and invite practitioners of other faiths to attend and break bread.
- Select and share passages and proverbs from the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. that promote peace and mutual respect of one another.
- Encourage followers to have a half-hour conversation with someone with whom they disagree.
- Encourage people from your community to engage in an act of service to help those in need or to make another positive difference that promotes peace in your area.
- Work as a group to construct a symbol of peace, such as folding paper cranes or planting olive trees, to serve as a reminder to pursue peace.
- ABOVE ALL: Take a picture of your action and share it using #PeaceDayChallenge, and upload it at USIP.org/peacedaymosaic to join the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic 2019!
Political/Community Leaders
Highlight an issue on which you are working that advances the cause of peace, share what you are doing, and encourage others to join in at #PeaceDayChallenge.
- Spread the word about an organization working to help those affected by violent conflict around the world.
- Use our social media kit to raise awareness of the International Day of Peace and encourage broad participation in the Peace Day Challenge
- Encourage schools, libraries, and bookstores in your community to focus on peace around September 21—for example, teachers and students can take up some of the action ideas listed above; libraries can dedicate “story-time” activities for children to peace literature, etc.
- Find a quote about peace that inspires you to act, and share the quote and the action using #PeaceDayChallenge.
- ABOVE ALL: Take a picture of your action and share it using #PeaceDayChallenge, and upload it at USIP.org/peacedaymosaic to join the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic 2019!
Social Media Kit
The Peace Day Challenge exists to raise the profile of the International Day of Peace and to affirm that peace is possible, it takes action and it takes all of us. It is all about inspiring a day of action on September 21, focused on building peace through real-life activities and sharing on social media at #PeaceDayChallenge.
We invite you to commit to the Peace Day Challenge by photographing an action for peace leading up to and on September 21 and sharing it on your social media accounts. Photographs shared prior to September 21 will be included in our animated photomosaic of all the inspiring things we’re doing together to create a more peaceful world. Promote your involvement with the Peace Day Challenge and the International Day of Peace with the materials in this kit or use them to inspire your own online campaign.
Before September 21:
- Head to www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge to get ideas for action.
- Spread the word to your networks using the hashtag #PeaceDayChallenge.
- Take an action for peace and share a photo of it with #PeaceDayChallenge for our animated photomosaic, or upload it directly on our website.
- Share the #PeaceDayChallenge video on your social networks, or create your own.
- Encourage others to participate by sharing our #PeaceDayChallenge graphics, or create your own.
- In your post, be sure to tag specific people or groups you’re encouraging so they know about it.
- Here are a few sample messages for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks (and don’t forget to include a photo!):
- English: The International Day of Peace is coming up! Will you take an action for peace for the #PeaceDayChallenge? www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- English: Peace is possible – but it takes action and it takes all of us! What action will you take for this year’s #PeaceDayChallenge? www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- English: Peace matters! Take the #PeaceDayChallenge with us to show that peace is possible, it takes action and it takes all of us: www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- Spanish: El Día Internacional de la Paz se acerca! ¿Vas a hacer una cosa por la paz? #PeaceDayChallenge www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- Arabic: اليوم الدولي للسلام على مقربة! هل ستقوم بفعل شيء واحد من أجل السلام؟ #PeaceDayChallenge www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- Tag @usinstituteofpeace on Facebook, @USIP on Twitter, and @usipeace on Instagram so we can share!
On September 21, the International Day of Peace:
- Check out our final animated photomosaic comprised of your #PeaceDayChallenge photos, and share it on social media with your followers! It will illustrate how each of us doing our individual part comes together to build the bigger picture of making peace possible.
- Share a photo, video or message about how you or your organization is taking up the #PeaceDayChallenge! Here are a few ideas:
- English: We’re doing [XXXXXX] for the #PeaceDayChallenge! What action will you take? www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge #PeaceDay
- English: Peace is a challenge we should all accept. Today, join us in taking the #PeaceDayChallenge: www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge #PeaceDay
- English: We believe that peace is possible, it takes action and it takes all of us. Today, we’re taking action by participating in the #PeaceDayChallenge. www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge
- Spanish: La paz es un reto que todos debemos aceptar. Únete hoy con nosotros en #PeaceDayChallenge www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge#PeaceDay
- Arabic: الوصول للسلام هو تحدي علينا جميعاً أن نتقبله. اليوم شاركونا في تحدِ يوم السلام #PeaceDayChallenge www.usip.org/peacedaychallenge #PeaceDay
- Ask your followers to take an action for the #PeaceDayChallenge and share it.
After September 21:
Keep the conversation about peace going! Find more ways to stay engaged at www.usip.org.
Poster Teaching Guide for the Peace Day Challenge
Looking for a classroom resource? We have a "Poster Teaching Guide for the Peace Day Challenge,” developed with Scholastic in 2018 and distributed that year to 50,000 middle school classrooms across the U.S. to support educators and their students in taking action on the International Day of Peace (9/21) and continuing their learning and engagement year-long. It is still on display in many schools, and available again in 2019 for teachers to post in their classrooms and use with their students to inspire action for the Peace Day Challenge!
