John Barker
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Sep 25/02) - Dozens of students from kindergarten and up at Sir Alexander Mackenzie school paid a visit to Jimmy Adams Peace Park last week.

Justien Firth and Katie Prentice sign a United Nations International Day of Peace banner that has been unfurled annually in Inuvik since 1988. - John Barker/NNSL photo

They were joined by their teachers and other members of the community, including Mayor Peter Clarkson, to mark the United Nations International Day of Peace.

Mary Beckett, Inuvik representative to the Beaufort Delta Education Council, outlined the history of the UN International Day of Peace, both around the world and in Inuvik.

The United Nations general assembly declared in November 1981 the third Tuesday of September -- the opening day of the regular session of the assembly -- shall be the International Day of Peace. It was first observed Sep. 21, 1982.

At UN headquarters in New York City, the day is marked each year with a special ceremony near the Peace Bell. The bell, cast from coins donated by people from some 60 countries, is a gift to the UN from the United Nations Association of Japan.

Beckett noted Inuvik, which first observed the UN International Day of Peace in 1987, is the "most northerly location to observe Peace Day in North America." Inuvik's UN peace banner has been unfurled at the commemoration every year since 1988, she said.

In her remarks, Beckett said, "As the 20th Century was beginning, the century was foretold by many people as the century for peace. This was marred only 14 years later when 65 million soldiers were brought together in the conflict of the First World War."

Beckett told the schoolchildren that according to the United Nations, "children and their families are not just getting caught in the crossfire.

"Many are being targeted. Nothing is spared, held sacred or protected. It is the singular characteristic of armed conflict in our world that children suffer most."