Bangkok, Thailand—In schools throughout Thailand, the UN International Day of Peace was commemorated on September 21, 2018 by reading peace messages and observing one minute of silence.
The program, which has been held every year since 2008 and last year involved more than 800,000 people from 2,000 schools, was organized by UPF-Thailand in partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Education and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
This year, UPF-Thailand chose St. Gabriel’s College, a private school in Bangkok, as the location of the main event.
Dr. Sopon Naphathon, vice minister of education delivered a message from Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, prime minister of Thailand, recognizing the work for peace UPF-Thailand has carried out; Gen. Terdsak Marrome (ret.), president of UPF-Thailand, delivered a message of peace from UPF- Thailand; Ms. Maki Katsuno–Hayashikawa, chief of section for Inclusive Quality Education, UNESCO (UN Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization) read UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for this year’s Day in English, and a student representative read the message in Thai.
Gen. Chan-ocha’s message, UPF-Thailand’s message and the UN Secretary-General’s message were sent to all the schools participating in the program to be read.
At the end of the event, all the participants were invited to observe one minute of silence for peace.