AMERICA/COLOMBIA - "Peace is life": the 26th edition of the Week for Peace

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - With the theme "Peace is life: we bargain peace, build coexistence" ("La paz es vida: pactemos paz, construyamos convivencia"), the 26th edition of the Week for Peace will be held in Colombia, from 8 to 15 September. According to information sent to Fides Agency by Adital, the initiative promoted by the Colombian civil society wishes to reaffirm that peace is possible in the country and seek a negotiated solution to the armed conflict that has lasted over 50 years. Founded in 1987 in the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, the week for Peace is celebrated in the second week of September.
Social and community organizations, organizations involved in the defense of human rights and peace-building, educational institutions, artists, media, trade unions, among others, actively participate in the week as part of their reality. Even the Catholic Church is engaged in the reflection on the theme, inviting everyone to take each his own responsibility in this area, through the peace program of the Society of Jesus in Colombia, REDEPAZ, the Colombian Episcopal Conference and the Social Pastoral, with the active participation of universities and religious congregations.
The Week for Peace, today the expression of great social mobilization for peace, is essentially peaceful, and from 1978 to 2012 saw 5009 events take place, such as marches , rallies, meetings, seminars, cultural and sporting events. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 04/09/2013)