100
PEACE POLES PROJECT
The Peace Poles in schools.
Rotary’s Peace Pole Project is an amazing opportunity to remind our young people of what Rotary does especially through ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ message.
The first seeds of world peace were planted in Ishikawa, Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi.
Each peace pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its sides.
The Warsaw Poland, World Peace Bell, was visited by the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin in 2018. Noticing a peace pole was located beside that bell, the visitors then found that the peace poles were placed in schools and parks around Poland by the Warsaw Peace Bell coordinator.
As a result, Michael Rabey from the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin, the Founding Coordinator of the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell, saw an opportunity for a Rotary 100 Peace Pole Project to begin! Linking that idea to the Australian Centenary of Rotary in 2021 came out of a discussion with Hugh Bucknall from Rotary Club of Melbourne in 2019.
The Rotary 1/100 Peace Pole was planted at St Vincent’s Primary School in the Australian Capital Territory and unveiled in June 2019.
Initially schools were first asked to visit the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell and then seek the nearest Rotary club for assistance in donating a peace pole to the school.
The first Rotary 100 Peace Pole constructed outside the ACT was unveiled at Greenvale State School in far North Queensland and donated by the Rotary Club of Charters Towers. This club also placed a further 5 Peace Poles in local Charters Towers schools.
The first Rotary 100 Peace Pole constructed outside the ACT was unveiled at Greenvale State School in far North Queensland and donated by the Rotary Club of Charters Towers. This club also placed a further 5 Peace Poles in local Charters Towers schools.
Peace Pole 100 of 100 was unveiled on the United Nations International Day of Peace by Governor General His Excellency Mr David Hurley on 21 September 2021. This pole is placed adjacent to the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell sits Lennox Gardens Canberra and completes the connection back to Warsaw.
The peace pole number 150 was planted in Cowra New South Wales in February 2022 and displayed the flags of 27 countries representing the nations that saw citizens accommodated in a migrant camp in Cowra following the 2nd world war. The former camp location is now a Rotary Park.
Some unique poles have been unveiled including three in Coonamble New South Wales planted in October 2021 and were painted by students to include Aboriginal images and messages.
Wagga Wagga New South Wales was recognised as a peace city in 1993 and to celebrate the 30 year anniversary, peace pole number 250 was unveiled within the Botanic Gardens in March 2023.
As at April 2023 a total of 287 Rotary 100 Peace Poles had been registered and placed in every state and Territory of Australia.
So much for only 100 peace poles!
Rotary has embraced the peace pole concept so much that we are now reaching for Peace Pole 300!
While the original Peace Pole Project was created in 1955, and by 2023 over 250,000 peace poles placed around the world in nearly 200 countries, the concept has been rapidly expanded in Australia by the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin’s idea of the 100 challenge to other Rotary clubs.
We thank Masahisa Goi the founder of this movement. Planting peace poles follows Rotary’s 4th Avenue of Service — the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace.
Peace poles are a simple, fun, and inexpensive way to spread the message of peace and hope for future generations.
For more about this R100 Centenary Initiative, contact: Michael Rabey (Coordinator Canberra Rotary Peace Bell for Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin) michaelprabey@gmail.com
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Becoming a ‘Friend’ of the Canberra Rotary Peace Bell had enabled the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin build the 24th World Peace Bell and pavilion in Nara Peace Park.
Now we need more help to maintain our highly professional communiuty service.
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‘Friends’ assist Rotary Peace Programs including the 100 Peace Pole Program, Rotary Foundation, Rotary Peace Scholarships, Shelter Box Australia and support for Domestic Violence Issues. Rotary has Peace in the World as one of its core values.