No.207 2004.6.9
A Morning Breeze
Reiko Kato, President of the Meguro UNESCO Association
| Bright green trees. Signs of new life are glowing in the morning sun.
This year, we are almost halfway through the UNESCO- initiated “International
Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the
World (2001 to 2010)” of the United Nations. Now at Meguro UNESCO Association, we are working on the making of a “Collection of Children’s Poems,” a project proceeding in commemoration of our fiftieth anniversary this year. Every day, we are receiving “children’s words of sincerity” from all over Meguro, Japan, and the whole wide world. Children from abroad, like India, Spain, Nepal, Cuba, Australia, the Netherlands, Korea, Georgia, Russia, Sri Lanka, and so on, are sending us their poems. Their hearty words, which seem more like an outcry to the adult world, speak of their hopes for peace, and their dreams. Reading through each one of the poems, all by myself in our head office on a Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help feeling a deep emotion inside me. Meguro UNESCO is involved in youth activities in many ways. We are inviting two hundred elementary and junior high school students to a concert in June. We run the UNESCO school. We accept students on school excursions. As part of the campaign of unused postcard contribution, we have distributed “My Declaration for Peace” calendars to all school students in the Meguro- ward. And of course, in summer, we have the International Friendship Youth Retreat; a three-day’s study and cultural exchange trip for youths. Throughout the year, many many youth activities are under way. The UNESCO movement must be promoted. And for this purpose, I hope that the young and old will build up a relationship of mutual trust, be tied by firm bonds, and advance together with a hope for tomorrow. The wind is blowing. This October, we will be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Meguro UNESCO. A fresh morning breeze will embrace us this year |
The second call for "The Children's Poems" closes on June 30.
Information uploaded on
UNESCO (Paris) website: http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/fr/fr_visu_action.asp?CodeAction=1475
Meguro UNESCO website: http://www.meguro-unesco.org/
| ・・・・CONTENTS ・・・・ Foreword: A Morning Breeze.................................................................. ..................................... 1 Activity Report on Lumbini / Nepal Project............................................................................2 A Visitor from Serbia and Montenegro........................................................................................2 Esashi Junior High School Students Visit Our Secretariat.............................................3 Bulletin Board / Editor’s Notes......................................................................................................4 |