La Paz

Today the 30^th January, here in Spain, schools celebrate a day of peace and non-violence.

This day is a great day to celebrate in schools as it educates children in tolerance, solidarity, harmony, to have respect for human rights, to be non-violent and encourage peace.

In schools on this day the education centres become places to educate peace and understanding between people of different backgrounds, cultures, races and religions.  In modern times this is becoming more prevalent as the schools are made up of more and more children from different countries.

Within the school, the day enables time to work with the students on the great importance of the right to peace and an understanding of how an education is important and how it helps with this expressing this right.  The schools educate the students in positive behaviour and promote goodwill amongst each other and to find peaceful resolutions when conflicts arise.

The School Day of Peace and Nonviolence, which is also known as DENIP, is a non-governmental educational day, founded in Spain in 1964. It was brought to society by the Mallorcan poet and pacifist Llorenç Vidal Vidal. It also coincides with an international day that commemorates the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi and has also been recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) back in 1993.