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On September 18th, the Peace Bell Ceremony was held in the Rose Garden at the United Nations Headquarters. Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa and Madame Yoshikawa attended this annual event.
H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Madame Ban, H.E. Dr. John W. Ashe, President of the 68th Session of the General Assembly, and Madame Ashe, Dr. Jane Goodall, UN Messengers of Peace, and Ms. Adrienne Monique Coleman, UN Youth Champion, as well as many UN staff members and diplomats attended the ceremony to celebrate the International Day of Peace.
At the beginning, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made brief remarks about the importance of education in the achievement of peace, and a moment of silence was observed before ringing the Peace Bell.
Following the ceremony, Ambassador and Madame Yoshikawa exchanged words and took pictures with the Secretary-General and Madame Ban, the President of the General Assembly and Madame Ashe, the UN Messengers of Peace and the UN Youth Champion.
The Peace Bell was originally cast from coins collected from people of 60 different countries. It was donated to the United Nations by the United Nations Association of Japan on June 8th, 1954. It has become a tradition to ring the bell on the occasion of the International Day of Peace (21 September).
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