A Bit of Background ...

John Farrington (founder and project co-organiser) travelled to Kosovo in 2003 to attempt to build bridges between the Ethnic Serbian and Albanian children. As part of a project to bridge the divide between ethnic Albanian and Serb children he was successful in constructing a giant peace dove and flew it on a bridge that symbolically and physically separates these two communities. This project was inspired by Dame Jane Goodall UN Messenger of Peace, and the Jane Goodall Institute's global Roots & Shoots project. Click here for further news on John's work with the Jane Goodall Institute

                                                         In December 2004, John Farrington travelled to Khao Lak in Thailand to assist in the immediate aftermath of the devastating tsunami. His experiences and film footage were documented by the BBC’s Inside Out television programme. This documentary was subsequently nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.

The Rochdale Parade for Peace project began in Feb 2006 after a meeting with filmmakers Mark Baron and Tariq Quamar of Sleepwalker Films. It was decided that Sleepwalker Films would film the process of our attempts to establish the first ever official and public observation of U.N. Peace Day in the UK.

New Years' Eve 2004 Khao Lak

In February 2007, Rochdale Parade for Peace was renamed Peace Parade UK to reflect the growing results of our efforts. In the summer of 2007, Sleepwalker Films was joined by editor Chris Matthews who worked tirelessly to complete 'The UN Chitty and Me' for the films' premiere screening.

In January 2008 it was decided that the time had come to formally constitute Peace Parade UK as a voluntary organisation, and new members came on board to drive through our aims and objectives -

Steven Cooke JP - Treasurer and co-organiser of Peace Parade UK.

Andrew Kay - Secretary and co-organiser for Peace Parade UK, and Area Manager of Rochdale & District Citizens Advice Bureau.

Nick Wigmore - Chair and co-organiser of Peace Parade UK, and local school teacher.                

The future plans?

We hope that UN Peace Day will, one day, be as part of the British fabric of society as Remembrance Sunday is today. We do not aim to forget those who have lost their lives in conflict, we do aim to encourage children to realise the importance of peace in the fragile world of which we live. However, we hope that the world will catch on and we will work towards that goal!

But we had to start somewhere, and it seemed to make sense to start with the children, and why not in Rochdale? 

An official and observed day of peace around the world has the potential to provide:

A day of respite for all victims of bullying in all schools

A day of respite for youth caught up in the endless and growing violence on all streets

A day of respite for all senior citizens who face fear in all communities

A day of respite for all soldiers on all sides

A day of respite for innocent civilians who face the fear of armed conflict

A day of respite for all humanitarian organisations

It seems to make sense

From our initial parade in 2006 observed by people in Rochdale, Peace Parade UK has recently gained official government recognition, and partnered with like minded international organisations who have seen the value of our results. The word appears to be spreading!  

'I dream that one day children will ask: "Grandad, what was war?" ' ... Anon