FAU Celebrates United Nations Peace Day

Giant Peace Doves to Fly as Part of Celebration

BOCA RATON, FL (September 15, 2004) - Florida Atlantic University is joining with other organizations around the world to celebrate United Nations Peace Day on Tuesday, September 21 at noon. The UN established an international peace day in 1981, and since then, people all over the world have marked the day with celebrations and events that call for peace and non-violence. FAU's celebration will take place on the lawn behind the Administration Building on the Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road.

The event will be marked by the appearance of more than 10 giant peace doves measuring 12 feet by 20 feet. The doves are constructed from wooden poles, chicken wire and sheets, and require three people to hold them aloft. They will be built by FAU students and high school students from Claremont Montessori School. The doves are part of the Jane Goodall Foundation's Giant Peace Dove Campaign, which was initiated to call attention to the need to work toward world peace. On September 21, 2003, the giant doves were flown in over 40 countries, including New Zealand, Thailand, Italy, Ecuador, Canada and more.

As part of the celebration, FAU President Frank Brogan, Provost John Pritchett, Dean William A. Covino of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and Jeffrey Morton, director of the Peace Studies Program, will speak. FAU choral students will also perform, and theatre students will read from writings by Jane Goodall, the UN Messenger of Peace, and Martin Luther King.

"Conflict continues every minute of every day somewhere in the world," said Jeffrey Morton. "This event reflects FAU's commitment to promoting the ideal of a peaceful, harmonious world to current and future generations."

This event is open to the public. Community members should stop at the information booth on Glades Road to receive a parking pass and directions to the Administration Building.

FAU's Peace Day celebration is organized by the Peace Studies Program, the Department of Anthropology and the School of the Arts in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. For further information, call 561-297-3216.

- FAU -