The International Youth Walk for World Peace and Restoration, 25 May 2013

On the 25th of May 2013, between 15:00 and 17:00, an unprecedented event was staged in the vicinity of the Seoul Olympic Park, built for the Korean Olympics in 1988, blocking three lanes of one of the busiest roads in the bustling South Korean Capital, Seoul.

Youth representatives from many nations gathered to walk in the International Youth Group Walk for World Peace and Restoration, signifying their commitment to working towards the cessation of war. This campaign was birthed from the desire to see the youth of the world united under the cause of making world peace a reality. Hosted by the International Peace Youth Group, the event was attended by over 100 associated organizations from over 50 different nations, including youth leaders from Portugal, Greece, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Belarus and Columbia. Together with over 27,000 local youth and citizens of Korea, they made a declaration of peace.

The 1.5km walk was divided into seven sections, representing each of the seven continents. The message of the event was clear: participants traversed a representation of the world, crossing the five oceans and seven continents, arriving in the Republic of Korea – the place where world peace is being fulfilled.

Amongst the 27,000 participants, approximately 5,000 foreigners residing in Korea were bused in, in 87 busses from all around the peninsula to participate in the peace walk.

Despite the difference of nationality and age, the mind and heart of the youth that participated in this event were the same, wishing to see world peace become something their generation can enjoy. “I wish the people of the world would love and be aware of peace like we are. The people of the world must realize that peace is needed not only in the Korean peninsula but also in Belarus and the whole world”, said Dol Anastasiya from Belarus who is the representative of Youth Peace Group of Belarus. Atif Javaid from the UK commented on the event as follows “it is a wakeup call for world leaders, the public does not want war but wants to become family and we are taking action to make it come true”.

The spectacular event was aired live to the world via Internet broadcast. The story of the day’s remarkable events was covered by multiple news agencies around Korea, and there were13 press releases covering the walk in International 10 different countries.

Posted in International walking for peace

source: ipyg.org