June 25, 2019
On June 25, 2019, at the Irvine City Council Meeting, the Mayor of Irvine and Irvine City Council presented a city proclamation, declaring Irvine as an International City of Peace. The proclamation reads “The city council of the city of Irvine does hereby proclaim June 30, 2019 as Irvine Day of Peace and International Day of Peace in the City of Irvine and hereby calls on all citizens to actively work towards creating a peaceful and inclusive city by fostering an environment to encourage respect for neighbors of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and beliefs.”
The Irvine Rotary Club led by President, Beth Fujishige is recognized for leading the campaign to declare the City of Irvine a City of Peace. Irvine now joins close to 250 cities in 54 countries on 6 continents as cities of peace including four other cities in California. Ojai, Los Angeles, Tuolumne County, and Lake County are also California Cities of Peace.
As a partner of the United Nations Association and a member of the United Nations Association Council of Organizations, Global Hope 365 is actively involved in global initiatives at a local level. Founder and President of Global Hope 365, Rima Nashashibi, is a signatory of the Letter of Intent which formed the basis for the declaration. The Letter of Intent was signed on May 30, 2019.
International Cities of Peace, a decade long initiative led by the United Nations, is an association of citizens, governments and organizations who have by proclamation, resolution, or by citizen advocacy established their communities as official Cities of Peace. The International Cities of Peace website states “Every community has a legacy of peace, whether it is by a historical event or by local peace heroes or groups who have contributed to their citizen’s safety, prosperity, and quality of life.”
As the home of the University of California, Irvine’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, Irvine has a rich history of citizen peacebuilding. In the 1980’s Irvine was home to a network of local official and activist network that fought for peace around the world called the Center for Innovative Diplomacy, a network of over 6,000 U.S. local officials and activists intervening in foreign policy and peacebuilding causes. Irvine’s legacy has been preserved and documented by UCI Ph.D. candidate Ben Leffel through the creation of the Center for Innovative Diplomacy digital archive. Global Hope 365 hosted a table to spread awareness on Human Trafficking and Child Marriage at UCI’s Citizens for Global Peacebuilding annual Peace Week in April of this year.
Global Hope 365 looks forward to collaborating on future peacebuilding initiatives in Irvine.
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