Paris, September - Events and celebrations have been held all over the world for the launch of the International Year for the Culture of Peace which is being spearheaded by UNESCO and which was marked, on September 13, by the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace by the United Nations General Assembly, at the close of its 53rd session.

Many of the events worldwide were staged on September 14, the day of the official launch of the Year and also International Peace Day. In New York, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered an address at the annual ringing of the Peace Bell. Ceremonies were also held in Paris, at UNESCO Headquarters and at the Eiffel Tower, which was dedicated Culture of Peace Messenger Site with the participation of UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor and numerous personalities and Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Elsewhere, young people, students, intellectuals, artists, public figures and ordinary people rallied around the Year's message of peace and tolerance in marches, events and seminars. Those events also served to collect signatures for the "Manifesto 2000 for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence", a personal commitment to practice the values of peace and tolerance which was launched by Nobel Peace Prize laureates with the aim of collecting 100 million signatures by the end of the Year.

UNESCO also launched a global media campaign, including the broadcast of its public service announcement featuring Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, and Rigoberta Menchu Tum promoting the culture of peace by broadcasters in many Member States.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, human rights, education and culture ministers took part in a cultural event at the House of Parliament which included a signing of the Manifesto. Cultural programmes were also staged for the celebration, September 14, of a Day of Peace for Youth of the Two Congos which was followed, on the 15th, by debates on the culture of peace with the participation of government ministers, mayors and representatives of the United Nations.

In Yamoussoukro (Côte d'Ivoire) the Year was launched with an ecumenical celebration in the Basilica and a march, with the participation of the Republican Guard, the Military Academy of Zambakro, fire fighters and police, at the close of which the ceremony participants were invited to sign the Manifesto 2000.

The President of Sao Tome e Principe headed the official launch of the Year with events which included a forum on youth and the culture of peace, a procession and grass-roots debates.

A cultural and sports programme marked the launching ceremony organised at the University of Nairobi (Kenya) where a seminar and workshop also brought together non-governmental organisations and associations involved in the promotion of the culture of peace in the country. In Somalia, a week-long workshop on civic education was held at Hargeisa where the Year was launched with an official ceremony.

In Khartoum, representatives from the countries of East and Central Africa, intellectuals and government ministers took part in a symposium on the culture of peace in Sudan. A concert was also held on that occasion.

All of Namibia's cabinet ministers as well as opposition party leaders took part in a ceremony in Parliament Garden in the capital Windhoek attended by school children and featuring an address by President Sam Nujoma. Similar marches and rallies by the country's school children were organised in other towns as well. A panel discussion on the culture of peace was broadcast nationally on Namibian television on September 13.

In Cape Town (South Africa), the Year was launched at the parliament where the education, arts, culture, science and technology, sport and recreation ministers, the heads of the country's human rights commission, the commission for gender equality and the national youth commission as well as representatives of United Nations agencies held a discussion with a panel of high school children. Also in Southern Africa, the University of Swaziland organised a seminar on the culture of peace between September 13 and 17.

In Cambodia, the Year was launched with a nationally broadcast address by the acting prime minister, Sar Kheng, and by a press conference in which the nation's programme for the Year was unveiled. It includes a "National Conference for the Culture of Peace" with the participation of the government and members of civil society represented by NGOs, December 10 - 12, and the "Angkor Wat Festival," December 30 - January 1, which will promote cultural diversity.

In Sri Lanka, Trincomallee, in the strife-stricken north-east of the country, was designated "City of Peace", a highly symbolic gesture as its population is a mix of Sinhalese, Tamils and Moslems. Ceremonies in schools throughout the country marked the occasion.

In Delhi (India), the Year was launched with a public signing by several hundred people of the Manifesto and by a march of some 1,500 school children from 30 private and public schools which ended with another Manifesto 2000 signing ceremony.

In Pakistan, a range of activities took place in schools, including an essay competition; and a park in Islamabad was designated as a Peace Park.

A ceremony at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok marked the launch of the Year in Thailand. It included the participation of senior officials, government members, UN representatives, diplomatic missions, NGOs, scholars and intellectuals. Similarly, a ceremony in the centre of Hanoi (Vietnam) assembled more than 1,000 people representing 54 ethnic groups.

In Seoul (South Korea), representatives of some seventy organisations, including leading personalities, began the International Year with a public signing session of Manifesto 2000.

In Lebanon, a ceremony was held at the World Heritage site of Byblos with an address by the President of the Republic. Three forums were also organised for the occasion on the subject of women, youth and intercultural dialogue, media, pluralism and cultural diversity. A range of cultural activities - including music and theatre performances - took place in various venues around the site.

In Jordan, the launch of the International Year included the opening of a UNESCO Peace Room at Al-Nahda school in the Jordan Valley. The room, equipped with modern communication equipment, is to be used for the establishment of a Web-site linking the school and the village to the global community. It will also serve to provide training for out-of-school youth, women and girls.

In the National Museum of Qatar, a festival was held launching the Year with the participation of government ministers, writers, diplomats and dignitaries. At Al-Khot Fort, a cultural symposium focused on the Islamic perspective of the culture of peace. An art exhibition focusing on tolerance and peace was opened in the Halls of Al-Bidaa Park.

In Algeria, the Year was launched with a meeting of 48 national grass roots associations and an extensive programme of cultural events. The Manifesto was distributed widely for the occasion and on September 17, the High Islamic Council delivered a sermon on the culture of peace in mosques throughout the country.

In Kazakhstan, various activities in schools belonging to UNESCO's Associated Schools Network marked the launch of the Year, notably essay and drawing contests and roundtable discussions. In Georgia, there was an exhibition of children's drawings at the National Gallery and a roundtable at the State Pedagogical University which hosts a UNESCO Chair. A major roundtable discussion on Peacekeeping and Culture of Peace was held in Tajikistan on that occasion. Kyrgyzstan hosted an international forum on Culture and Religion in Central Asia which sought to develop a strategy for international and inter-religious dialogue to promote the culture of peace.

In Moscow, a "Week for the Culture of Peace" was launched in more than 1,400 schools while the Grozny Centre of the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence hosted a conference on peace in the North-Caucasian region bringing together intellectuals from Dagestan and Chechnya. The city of Kazan, capital of Russia's Tatarstan province, staged a solemn procession and concert bringing together representatives of the Muslim and Orthodox confessions while an Institute of the Culture of Peace was inaugurated. It is one of the first institutes in the world to specialise in the training of peace promoters.

In Catalunya (Spain), more than 800,000 copies of the Manifesto 2000 were distributed in local daily newspapers to mark the launch of the year. Among other scheduled events, a major photography exhibition, notably featuring pictures taken by children in conflict areas, opened in Barcelona on September 21.

In Italy, public broadcaster RAI is preparing a major international broadcast highlighting the global aspect of the International Year for the Culture of Peace. To be broadcast this autumn, the programme will include footage from all over the world with the participation of Nobel Peace Prize laureates as well as local and international artists.

Elsewhere in Europe, the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom organised a day-long signing of the Manifesto beside the Memorial to Victims of Violence outside Westminster Abbey in London. In Greece, the event was marked by the arrival of the Peace Cruise of young people from 13 countries - including most of the Mediterranean states - to Thessaloniki where it was welcomed by the city's mayor. They had the opportunity to talk with Federico Mayor in a visioconference (Paris-Thessaloniki). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the launch of the Year was marked by a major media campaign and cultural events in schools.

In Cuba, the launch of the year was marked by a media campaign and a roundtable discussion about the media's role in favour of the culture of peace. And, in Barbados, International Peace Day was observed in schools.

In Costa Rica, a "Culture of Peace Collection" was launched comprising a series of radio programmes associated to a book of 18 short stories each illustrating a particular theme pertaining to the culture of peace (human rights, gender equality, the rights of the child, tolerance, etc.). The Collection also includes an exercise book. Both radio programmes and print material were to be distributed regionally, notably to schools in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

A ceremony for the launch of the Year took place in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, on the occasion of which the country's government publicly endorsed the Manifesto. Similar signing ceremonies took place in other major cities in the country.

A launching ceremony meanwhile took place in the House of Parliament in Montevideo (Uruguay). In Paraguay, several hundred students took to the streets of the capital Asuncion in March for Peace which gathered in front the House of Parliament. The event was jointly organised by the Ministry for Education and Religious Affairs and by UNESCO. In Chile there were also Manifesto signing ceremonies, as well as a street demonstration in Santiago. The Manifesto 2000 was distributed in schools on this occasion. While in Argentina, International Peace Day was observed in schools throughout the country.

In New Zealand, the launching ceremony for the Year featured a musical performance and keynote addresses at the Museum of New Zealand (Wellington). While in the Cook Islands, the Mitiaro school staged a celebration of World Peace Day with a prayer service, poems, songs and addresses by students.