NEW YORK | Over 400 Seeds and supporters celebrated Bridges to Peace over three weekends during September and October by taking part in one of several events in conjunction with International Day of Peace.
From Augusta and New York to Lahore and Mumbai, Seeds, Educators, volunteers, and supporters gathered to discuss the issues regarding peace in their communities and to raise awareness for Seeds of Peace by crossing bridges in the heart of their cities.
Maine Seeds and supporters kicked off the celebrations on September 13 by crossing the Memorial State Bridge in Augusta, where they walked to the state house and the statue of Samantha Smith, a young Cold War peace activist from Maine.
One week later, about 85 people crossed New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge from City Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge Park to raise awareness and support for Seeds of Peace programming around the world.
On the same day in Lahore, 37 Pakistani Seeds and 10 supporters gathered for the Pakistan Bridges to Peace event, where they watched and had discussed the movie “Manto”, which depicts the struggles of Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto. Following the movie, author Anam Zakaria talked about her book “Footprints of Partition,” which relates Zakaria’s experiences during five years on both sides of the Indian-Pakistani border.
On September 21, the Seeds of Peace community in Afghanistan kicked-off Bridges to Peace 2015 with a 1K run, followed by an art exhibit containing the work of Seeds. The 50 participants also heard from five speakers who focused on how ordinary people can build peace within their communities. The celebration concluded with everyone releasing balloons into the rainy skies over Kabul.
On October 4 we held Bridges to Peace events in India and the UK. In Mumbai, over 220 Bridges to Peace participants walked two miles, raising awareness and funds for Seeds of Peace, and in London, 50 Seeds and supporters came together in Hyde Park to learn more about the Seeds of Peace experience.
Bridges to Peace continued in Egypt on October 9, when 19 Seeds crossed the October 6th Bridge in central Cairo. The festivities concluded on October 21 in the United States capital, where a group walked through Washington, D.C., starting at the U.S. Marine Corps memorial in Virginia across the Potomac River past several national monuments and the U.S. Capitol building.
BRIDGES TO PEACE 2015 PHOTOS