FAU to Celebrate United Nations International Day of Peace

FAU will host a United Nations International Day of Peace celebration on Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. in the University Theatre on FAU's Boca Raton campus. The event will include a performance of "With Their Voices Raised," along with the launch of the FAU Kindness Campaign, introduced by FAU First Lady Carolyn Kelly; Robin Rubin, of FAU's School of Social Work; and Bill Trapani, of FAU's Agora Project. There also will be remarks from Lalita Janke, board president of the U.S. National Committee for U.N. Women.

"With Their Voices Raised" is a theater documentary based on the stories of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima survivors. The documentary is testimony to the power of the human spirit to endure, thrive, and for these survivors, pursue a lifelong desire for reconciliation and peace in the aftermath of bombings that marked the beginning and end of the United States' involvement in WWII. Hawaiian youth actors who performed Voices at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor will join students from South Florida to create a thought-provoking, bridge-building Peace Day experience.

Following the performance, there will be discussion led by Barb Schmidt, international mindfulness activist and founder of Peaceful Mind/Peaceful Life; Patricia Liehr, Ph.D., professor in FAU's College of Nursing; and Kate Morris, playwright for "With Their Voices Raised."

The theme for this year's U.N. International Day of Peace is "Partnerships for Peace, Dignity for All." The event at FAU is sponsored by the Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative. For more information about this initiative, visit www.fau.edu/pjhr or email pjhr@fau.edu.