The “I Declare World Peace” project reports a measurable rise in global peace consciousness, and attributes the rise to the increase in a broad variety of pro-peace projects on social media and in the real world.
Lawrence R. Gelber, spokesperson for I Declare World Peace, Inc. (IDWP), observed that, according to the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI), the world has in fact increased its peacefulness since 2009. The GPI also reflects that the United States is more peaceful than at any time in the past 20 years, and despite an increase in world-wide terrorist attacks, the number of fatalities has declined by 25% since 2007. Iceland, Denmark and Norway remain the three most peaceful nations on earth.
IDWP claims that “peace projects across the spectrum have had a collective positive effect on global peace levels.” In an interview, Gelber rattled off the names of an eclectic range of projects, including mainstream groups such as the United States Institute of Peace, the Peace Corps and the United Nations, as well as art based efforts like Celebrate World Peace, social media groups like I Declare World Peace and the famous Dutch group “World Peace Is Possible” all the way to “new age” groups like Galactic Free Press. He also pointed out meditation based endeavors, such as Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation based “Global Country of World Peace”.
Gelber noted that there is now some kind of pro-peace effort that will appeal to every sensibility, from “the most button-down, straight laced personality, to the very creative, to the cosmically attuned personality.” Even projects that are not directly focused on peace, such as the No Such Thing As A Bully project founded by noted Canadian activist Kelly Karius, by seeking to reduce tension through education, “are contributing to the phenomenon”, he said.
Recent news reports seem to support IDWP’s claims. On April 29, 2013 “The Independent” reported that the United Kingdom has not only experienced a dramatic decline in its murder rate, but that violent crime of all stripes has fallen 25% from 2003 to 2012, marking an impressive rise in the peacefulness of the UK.
Similarly, the South African Government News Agency’s reported on April 25, 2013, that “in the interest of the very survival of humanity, parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) have made a call that nuclear weapons should never be used again, under any circumstances.” Commenting on this particular report, Gelber noted that “while there may be a ‘lip-service’ component to such statements, the fact that they are being made reflects the rise in global peace consciousness that IDWP is seeing.”
Janny Smits, the creative director of World Peace Is Possible, which participates with I Declare World Peace as a “collaborative partner” in raising global peace consciousness, said that recent international reports “demonstrate our central conviction; world peace is possible. We agree that as pro-peace efforts grow, the numbers will get even better.”
And, Sian Lindemann, founder of “Celebrate World Peace”, a pro-peace project based on art and artists, reached at her studio in New Mexico, noted that the “purpose of art is to communicate, and with increased communication comes understanding, and with greater understanding comes peace.”
Gelber echoed the sentiments of Smits and Lindemann, observing that “all action begins with thought. That is why we are engaged in a program to plant the thought ‘I Declare World Peace’ into the consciousness of humanity. We think the recent reports and statistics show that the IDWP project, in concert with other pro-peace projects, is clearly working, and while we know there are problems, we expect the news to get even better. We warmly welcome everyone’s participation in the I Declare World Peace project, whether by uploading an I Declare World Peace video, or tweeting the affirmation ‘I Declare World Peace’ or posting it on the wall of your favorite social media.”
Information about the I Declare World Peace project can be found at www.ideclareworldpeace.org. Information about the other pro-peace groups mentioned in this article can be found on their respective sites. The I Declare World Peace logo is a registered trademark of I Declare World Peace, Inc. All other logos, marks and copyrights are the intellectual property of, and belong to, their respective owners.
