International Day of Peace is coming up this Sunday, September 21!

Quick Facts:

– This day is dedicated to world peace and was first celebrated in 1982.

–  This day is respected by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples.

– This year has a theme, which is “Rights of People to Peace.”  This theme is in honor of the 30th year of the UN Declaration’s Rights of People to Peace.

While being on a Holy Land tour, there are always conversations about why there is not peace in the Holy Land.  Participating on a Breaking Bread Journeys tour is incredible because in addition to experiencing the Holy Land, you can intimately learn the perspective of an Israeli and a Palestinian.  Additionally, Breaking Bread Journeys actively supports peace and sustainability efforts.

In a recent article about Breaking Bread Journeys, it mentions that “most tours spend half a day in Palestinian areas, resulting in about 10 cents for each tourist dollar spent going to the local economy, but Breaking Bread Journeys’ programs result in more money going directly to these communities, [co-founder Elisa] Moed said. ‘We design our programs to up that substantially,’ typically returning 27 cents on each tourist dollar spent, she said. ‘It’s our way to improve lives and further peace and stability.’ Samara Tourist and Travel Agency is receiving support for marketing and promotion of Breaking Bread Journeys from the United States Agency for International Development, as part of the agency’s strategy to develop the Palestinian tourism sector and to make a significant impact in job creation and investment, as a path to peace and stability.”

“Peace to a land that was created for peace, and never saw a peaceful day.”
~ Mahamoud Darwish

By clicking here, you can read about actions you can take to participate in this global Day of Peace. These ideas include include individual as well as global actions. One I found interesting is Peace Breathing. Also, there is an organization called Peace One Day, which is dedicated to spreading awareness of this global day of peace, as well as reducing violence on this day.

What will you do this year to celebrate International Day of Peace?