Every year the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement hosts a public community calendar of events and activities running from International Day of Peace to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Community organizations are invited to add their events to the calendar and everyone is welcome to participate in the engaging activities to promote peace.
Peace Week 2024
The United Nations' theme for Peace Week 2024 is Cultivating a Culture of Peace. The community calendar of events happening in Kitchener-Waterloo will continue to grow and evolve - submit an event if you have one and come out in September!
Peace Week 2023
Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals was the theme set by the United Nations for Peace Week 2023.
It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all.
2023 marks the mid-point in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2023 observance of the International Day of Peace coincides with the SDG summit (18 – 19 September) to mark the mid-point milestone.
The SDGs aim to bring us closer to having more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, free from fear and violence. But without the buy-in and contribution of a wide range of actors including the 1.2 billion young people alive, the goals will not be achieved. We invite you to join the United Nations’ call to take action for peace: fight inequality, drive action on climate change, and promote and protect human rights.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, and hunger, and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization.”
2023 is also the 75th anniversaries of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. IDP 2023 encourages all youth to be ambitious in their engagement as positive and constructive social agents, to join the movement to reach the SDGs and contribute to building sustainable peace. Together we can help to lead our world towards a greener, more equitable, just, and secure future for all.
Peace Week 2022
The theme of Peace Week 2022 was 'End Racism. Build Peace'. It built towards the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. You can read CPA student staff member Emma's Reflections on Truth and Reconciliation and see the full Peace Week 2022 calendar of events.
Peace Week 2021
The CPA marked Peace Week through a series of publications and community events that invited participants to reflect on the challenges faced over the course of the pandemic and look forward with hope and a vision for the fututre. It centered around our fall 2021 exhibit, Not Traumatic Enough for a Shock Blanket.
The theme for the United Nation's International Day of Peace 2021 was "Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world". The CPA believes that we can recover by being in community with one another. As a community, we can acknowledge the ways in which we may have developed or changed, and better support one another through transition back to in-person activities.
Read more about Peace Week 2021.
Peace Week 2020
Peacebuilder's Circle Series Ep. 1
Peacebuilder's Circle Series Ep. 2
Peacebuilder's Circle Series Ep. 3
Peace Week 2019
Peace Week 2019 hosted the largest community calendar for Waterloo Region with 14 different events spread over a week, culminating in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement's 5th Anniversary celebration.
Read more about Peace Week 2019.
Read more about the Centre for Peace Advancement's 5th Anniversary.
Peace Week 2018
Peace Week 2018 was made up of 13 community events, including the Grebel Gallery Exhibit Launch for A New Era of Peace and a Peaceful Land.
Read more about Peace Week 2018.
Peace Week 2017
The Centre for Peace Advancement began to coordinate the community calendar for Peace Week in 2017. Opening up the calendar to broader community events increased participation with Waterloo Region residents.
Read more about Peace Week 2017.
Peace Week 2016
In 2016, the Centre for Peace Advancement contributed to the Grebel community calendar, and celebrated The Ripple Effect Education (TREE) launch.
Peace Week 2015
The Centre for Peace Advancement worked alongside Grebel in 2015 to implement a calendar of events with expressions of peace from different departments and partners within the college.
Peace Week 2014
Peace Week began in 2014 when Conrad Grebel University College initiated a series of community events for the week surrounding the International Day of Peace, culminating in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement's official launch.