Kirchheimbolander Peace Days
The Kirchheimbolander Peace Days are an annual series of events. Since 1975 , cultural, discussion and information events on peace issues have been held in Kirchheimbolanden , in Rhineland-Palatinate, between November 1st and December 10th. In addition, the Kirchheimbolander Peace Day Prize is awarded every year to individuals, initiatives or organizations that are committed to a more peaceful world in various ways.
Emergence
In 1975 during the Cold War , on the initiative of the Protestant pastor Elmar Funk, the Amnesty International branch of 1299 first launched the “Peace Week” . One of the decisive factors for the initiation was the emergence of peace education drafts - alongside behavior research, conflict research and aggression research. The common denominator was the basic thesis: Peace can be learned! From the beginning, the peace issue was very broad and not just reduced to the arms issue.
Content orientation
Every year around 25 cultural, discussion and information events take place, which are organized by churches, a large number of associations, groups and political associations, including schools and day-care centers. Oriented to current socio-political challenges, key topics such as B. Fair trade , causes and fate of flight, freedom of the press and expression, environmental protection worked out. A central event every year is the commemoration of the Reichspogromnacht on November 9th at the site of the former synagogue. The event for Human Rights Day on December 10th will conclude.
A common platform for the implementation of the events was adopted in 1975 and revised by the groups involved in 2004.
Town twinning
In 1992, shortly after the collapse of the former Soviet Union , close contacts with the Russian city of Chernyakhovsk (formerly Insterburg ) arose from the spirit of the Peace Days . Against the background of the German-Russian history at the time, this was perceived as an encouraging approach to encounter and reconciliation. The two cities have been twinned since 2002.
Kirchheimbolander Peace Day Prize
The Kirchheimbolander Peace Days emphasize the connection between thinking and acting. Therefore, selected individuals, initiatives or organizations are supported financially and ideally on a global scale and on a local level by awarding the Kirchheimbolander Peace Day Prize .
As part of the approximately 900 events to date, around 200,000 euros in donations have been collected to endow the Peace Day Prize.
Award winners
| year | Award winners | Justification of the lender |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 |
Betty Williams Christiaan Beyers Naudé |
Leader of the Northern Irish peace movement, which campaigned for non-violent coexistence between rival groups and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for this. As a white man, resolute opponent of apartheid in South Africa - after the desegregation was abolished, Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches (SAC) |
| 1977 | Ales Brezina (CSSR) Bernardo Araya Zuleta (Chile) |
29 years old, co-signer of Charter 77 , after graduating from high school, was arrested on April 18, 1977 and sentenced on June 14 by the military court in Prague to two and a half years in prison for conscientious objection. 67 years old, former MP and well-known trade union leader, was arrested at home with his wife on April 2, 1976 and later tortured. Since then he has been considered "disappeared". |
| 1978 | Children of this world | In anticipation of the “Year of the Child” (1979): the financial basis for a big children's party. |
| 1979-1982 | Projects of the ecumenical hunger marches Bread for the World Care of families whose fathers were victims of political arbitrariness Tree-planting campaigns in Israel Social work by the Jewish Community of the Rhineland Palatinate Amnesty International campaigns against the "plague of torture" and the "disappearance" of unpopular people |
|
| 1983 | Fabio Antonio de Souza (Brazil) Veysi Sentat (Turkey) |
10 years, malnourished, sponsorship through Kindernothilfe 26 years, in custody for extradition for 8 months (Mainz) |
| 1984 | Greenpeace | environmental Protection |
| 1985 |
Kindernothilfe Christian Institute in South Africa |
|
| 1986 | Silvia Aparecida dos Santos (Brazil) Aid fund for foreigners in need and asylum seekers |
Sponsorship for the five-year-old girl through Kindernothilfe |
| 1987 | Support of the relatives of 15 Chileans threatened with the death penalty Legal counsel for the citizens' initiative "No mobilization base" |
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| 1988 | Small clinic in Kabanga (Tanzania) Disaster relief Nicaragua |
Co-financing of a corrugated iron roof, basic supplies in the "flood season" (malaria, acute illnesses, obstetrics) After the hurricane, a large number of people are left homeless. |
| 1989 | Isoko, Tanzania Women's refuge in the Donnersbergkreis |
Financing of a truck transport for a clinic in the so-called “Third World” moral support and financial help for the planned women's shelter |
| 1990 | ROMELIO Adi Lenz |
Financial aid for the ROMELIO group, which specifically looks after some slum projects in Colombia, ideal support for the Rockenhausen man who got into the court mill because of his "blockade" in Fischbach |
| 1991 | "Sinti edit their history" | Enlightening and peacemaking Landau model project |
| 1992 | Café Asyl in Kirchheimbolanden | Emergency camp with war refugees from the former Yugoslavia |
| 1993 | Newe Shalom (Oasis of Peace) Bosnian refugee camp |
Jewish-Arab reconciliation project in Israel |
| 1994 | Fundacion Cristo Joven Roland Schlosser (Landau Police Department) |
an outstanding example of the exemplary social work of Latin American churches for his civilly courageous liberation campaign |
| 1995 |
Bread for the World Association for the Return of Refugees and Democracy in Rwanda |
Campaign against the scandalous child labor in the Indian carpet industry |
| 1996 | Talitha Kumi | In the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this institution tries to offer the socially disadvantaged and refugee families opportunities for education, upbringing and a decent future with an integrative educational approach. |
| 1997 | STREETS | Street children project in Cape Town (South Africa) |
| 1998 | "Names against oblivion" | Installation of a memorial stone at the former synagogue |
| 1999 | Earthquake victims in Karatepe (Turkey) | Reconstruction aid, procurement of materials for the damaged or completely destroyed houses and school in Karatepe (Black Mountain) according to the principle of "helping people to help themselves" |
| 2000 | Rainer Nunweiler ( Rockenhausen ) | Fight for the life of the 26-year-old nurse, blood typing campaign "Whoever saves a person saves the whole world!" |
| 2001 | House of Youth Kirchheimbolanden | Recognition of the long-term, socio-educational work done here, determined by the basic idea of integration |
| 2002 | Thalita Kumi (Palestine / Israel) Flood victims in Schmiedeberg / Saxony |
Sourdough work of reconciliation in a difficult political environment for socially disadvantaged and refugee families (education, upbringing, humane future) ideal support to strengthen the will to live and belief in the future "Hope is a flower of solidarity" |
| 2003 | Fundacion Cristo Vive (Santiago / Chile) | Christian social work of Sister Karoline Mayer, the "Angel of the Poor" in Latin America, which is dedicated to caring for homeless families. a. Operates day-care centers and after-school care centers, facilities for the disabled, vocational training centers, hospital wards, outpatient departments. |
| 2004 | Mine clearance project in Ugamati (Afghanistan) | Support of the organization World Christian Frontiers in advocating justice, peace and the future |
| 2005 | medica mondiale e. V. Parents circle - Families forum |
Human rights and aid organization that works for girls and women harmed by sexual violence in war and crisis areas (Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and others). Israeli and Palestinian families hit by a hard blow of fate are doing mourning work in mutual efforts for reconciliation and peace. |
| 2006 | Jayawickreme Foundation "House for Street Children" (Congo) |
a social foundation in Sri Lanka that was set up in the mid-1990s: construction of the school project "Donnerschmiede" (made up of Donnersberg and Schmiedeberg) after the devastating tsunami flood disaster on Christmas 2004 in a place of earth marked by civil war (Kinshasa) |
| 2007 | India Aid Kaiserslautern e. V. Start Life, self-help project in Nigeria |
Organization founded and supervised by world referee Markus Merk , which operates in India a. a. Initiated by Felicia Stevens, a Kirchheim bolander from Nigeria, runs schools, orphanages, old people's homes for the construction and maintenance of a kindergarten and a training center |
| 2008 | “Lead children” from La Oroya, Peru Donnersberger Initiative in Not e. V. |
for the construction of a community center with group rooms, people's kitchen, health center, work rooms, library in an Andean region poisoned by lead mining, aid fund for needy children and young people "on site" |
| 2009 |
Doctors Without Borders Diospi Suyana, Mission Hospital in Peru Kirchheimbolander Tafel |
The international network - awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 - provides emergency medical aid in more than 60 countries in crisis areas and in the event of natural disasters. A central medical station for the Quechua Indians in southern Peru, built by the German doctor couple Klaus Dieter and Martina John. Help for people in need and reducing senseless food destruction |
| 2010 |
Rüdiger Nehberg Women help women Donnersbergkreis e. V. |
in support of the organization TARGET, which he set up, which campaigns for the abolition of female circumcision as the sponsor of the Donnersbergkreis women's refuge |
| 2011 |
Heinz Ratz Mama / Papa has cancer e. V. Lebenshilfe Alzey-Donnersberg |
With his project “The moral triathlon”, the musician and fighter for human rights drew attention to ecological grievances. Kaiserslautern Initiative for Children of Parents with Cancer An initiative that campaigns “on site” for the needs of people with intellectual disabilities |
| 2012 | Doctors for Human Rights | Initiative from Israel |
| 2013 | The bridge Rupert Neudeck Meike and Chris Capps-Schubert Diakonisches Werk Pfalz |
Social project from Kirchheimbolanden For the foundation of the aid organization Cap Anamur / Deutsche Not-Ärzte , with the ship of the same name, Rupert Neudeck rescued around 10,000 Vietnamese refugees between 1979 and 1982, and for the foundation of the aid organization Grünhelme. In the tradition of the GI cafés during the Vietnam War, the couple runs a GI advice café (“The Clearing Barrel”) in Kaiserslautern. Social facilities in Kirchheimbolanden |
| 2014 |
Jürgen Grässlin Association Partnership One World e. V., Eisenberg-Grünstadt |
With his “Black Book Arms Trade - How Germany Earns From War” he promotes disarmament. |
| 2015 | Schams e. V. Refugee Aid Kirchheimbolanden |
The organization initiated by the writer Rafik Schami takes care of Syrian refugee children and young people (education, psychosocial care, promoting creative potential, etc.). |
| 2016 | Raif Muhammad Badawi Kirchheimbolander day care centers and elementary school |
imprisoned Saudi Arabian blogger and human rights activist; the award was accepted by Ensaf Haidar, the blogger's wife living in exile in Canada, on behalf of her socially integrative work |
| 2017 | Lea Ackermann carolers from the parish of Saint Anna live without armor |
ecumenical peace initiative for her life's work, the Solwodi aid organization |
| 2018 |
Reporters Without Borders Circus Pepperoni e. V. |
For more than 20 years, the organization has stood up for journalists who are hindered in their work for political reasons, who are exposed to reprisals and violence or who are deprived of their freedom. For 30 years, the Pepperoni with their work and their offers have enabled children and young people to recognize and develop their skills and strengths in a very special space. |
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While the symbol of the first days of peace (1975) was a cut piece of barbed wire - an expression of the injuries and limitations of peace and at the same time the longing for breakthrough and change - a dove was later shown on posters and invitation flyers, carrying a splintered and bursting globe, "from which a delicate, vulnerable hope plant grows." - Elmar Funk
In 1986 the Bolander artist Hermann Hoormann designed a new motif: "Kirchheimbolanden entirely under the sign of the dove of peace. The city coat of arms puffs out like a ship's sail. The pigeon proudly spreads its plumage - in victorious and expeller pose - the city coat of arms boar has his Ancestral place lost. Looking backwards with a fearful and angry look at the same time, the shaggy animal runs away. The little peaceful pigeon drives away the aggressive, overpowering boar. Another miraculous victory of David over Goliath! " - Elmar Funk
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Commendable engagement honored. Minister President Kurt Beck paid tribute to diverse work and humanity . In: State Chancellery Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): State newspaper Rhineland-Palatinate . No. 7 , February 28, 2011, p. 2 .
- ↑ Peace Day Manifesto - Peace Days. Retrieved October 29, 2019 (German).
- ↑ The “conscience of the region” is dead. In: Rheinpfalz. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Press release: Peace Prize for a Crazy and Dreamer. (PDF; 60.4 kB) In: Bistummainz.de. WORKING COMMUNITY FOR PEACE GROUPS IN RHEINLAND-PFALZ, SS 1 , accessed on November 29, 2019 .
- ^ Twin town Chernyakhovsk. In: kirchheimbolanden.de. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .
- ↑ "It must not be forgotten". Rheinpfalz.de. In: Rheinpfalz.de. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Kirchheimbolander Peace Day Prize 2017 awarded to Leben Without Armament. In: ohne-ruestung-leben.de. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .
- ↑ "Reporters Without Borders" are awarded. In: swr.de. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .