building the culture of peace

As one of the commemorative events to celebrate the 55th Anniversary of the formation of the Young Women Division, an exhibition titled “Building a Culture of Peace” was held from Jul 3 to 9, 2006, at the National Library Plaza.

The exhibition was organized as a peace initiative of the SSA Young Women Division in commemoration of the division's 55th anniversary and also part of the on-going celebration of Singapore's 10 years of accession to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child. It was supported by the Youth Development Fund grant of the National Youth Council and the National Library Board. Mr Tan Boon Huat, Chief Executive Director of the People's Association was the Guest-of-Honour for the exhibition's opening.

The United Nations (UN) has designated 2001 –2010 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World". The UN defines “A Culture of Peace” as a set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes and solving problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations.

This exhibition created by the SGI counterpart in the United States brings together the ideas of hundreds of people and organizations dedicated to finding a path to lasting peace. The SSA young women hope to create mass awareness of the importance of peace at every level by producing souvenirs bearing the theme, or related keywords, and selling them so that it can be seen on the streets of Singapore. The proceeds from the sale will go to a charity organization committed to either welfare for women or children.