MEMBERS of Nuneaton Rotary Club joined staff at ARC School Ansley for a ceremony to celebrate a new ‘Peace Pole’ being installed.
The Rotary scheme is aimed at tackling the causes of conflict including poverty, discrimination, lack of access to education and unequal distribution of resources.
The Peace Poles are made of recyclable materials and have the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in eight languages to reflect the schools where they have been planted.
Anita Atkinson, community committee chair of Nuneaton Rotary Club, said: “The pole is planted in a lovely clearing in the school grounds and provides the pupils with a quiet and peaceful spot in which to take time out to restore tranquillity and calmness during their school day.
“We like to engage pupils in the project by asking them to either write a poem or select a published poem about what peace means to them and then vote on it.
“The winning poem is then engraved on a plaque planted alongside the pole.
“ARC Ansley’s poem, written by a year nine pupil, was a great illustration of this and the last two lines were a good message for all of us: ‘Whatever you do please just be kind to yourself, each other, the planet and animals’.
“Another pupil read out Winston Churchill’s wartime ‘never surrender’ speech which added to the reflective mood of the occasion.”
The idea for Peace Poles originated in Japan in the wake of the destruction wrought by the Second World War and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It was adopted by the World Peace Society Charity and became accepted by the UN as one of the accepted International Symbols of Peace.
Every year the Rotary awards more than 100 fully-funded Peace Fellowships training for dedicated leaders around the world.
Amal Rampal, district governor for Heart of England Rotary, said: “Peace is a cornerstone of Rotary’s mission.
“We refuse to accept conflict as a way of life.
“We believe when people work to create peace in their communities, the changes can have a global effect.
“Peace Poles are an internationally recognised symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family.
“Today, over 70million people are displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution and human rights violations. Half of them are children.”
