BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The Ministry of Traditional Governance, Peace and Ecclesiastical Affairs (MTGPEA) has commemorated and celebrated International Peace Day (IPD) outdoors for the first time.
The Ministry observed the 2025 International Peace Day under the theme “Act Now for a Peaceful World”.
The event took place at the St Barnabas Cathedral Melanesian Hall yesterday.
The highlights of this year’s International Peace Day included a school speech competition on the topic, “How can young people in Solomon Islands act now for a peaceful Solomons?” and “Act Now for a Peaceful Solomon Islands: The Role of Youth in Building a United Nation.”
These topics were categorized into two groups: the junior category, which included forms 1-3 discussing how young people in Solomon Islands can act now for a peaceful Solomons, and category 2, where forms four to six spoke on “Act Now for a Peaceful Solomon Islands: The Role of Youth in Building a United Nation.”
The two schools that participated yesterday were St Joseph Tenaru National Secondary School and St John High School, although invitations were extended to King George the Sixth, Betikama Adventist College, Florence Young, and St Nicholas College.
Winners of the speech competition were also presented with prizes during the closing event of the event.
International Day of Peace (IDP) or World Peace Day is observed each year around the world on September 21. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace more so to promote peace.
Since 2008, the government and the people of Solomon Islands through the Ministry of Traditional Governance, Peace & Ecclesiastical Affairs, have joined the international community to commemorate this day through various peace activities, themes and messages.
Since 2016 the Global Goals or 17 SDG were strategically implemented by succeeding Solomon Islands Government and it aligned to the Solomon Islands Governments National Development Strategy 2016 to 2035.