Peace Pole to be planted Friday in People's Park
BERKELEY – A Peace Pole will be "planted" in People's Park on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Roots of Peace Garden. The garden is a collaboration between the Roots of Peace organization, the University of California, Berkeley, and the People's Park Community Advisory Board.
Donated by Roots of Peace, the Peace Pole proclaims in eight languages the message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth." It will be installed at a 4:30 p.m. ceremony at the park on Haste Street between Telegraph Avenue and Bowditch Street in Berkeley.
The event coincides with United Nations Day, a celebration commemorating the founding of the United Nations 58 years ago in San Francisco. The original United Nations charter was typeset and printed by the UC Printing Department.
Roots of Peace is a humanitarian non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of landmines and the return of the land to productive agricultural use. By planting rice in Cambodia, grapes in Afghanistan, orchards in Croatia and wheat in Iraq, the vision of the United Nations is being realized, say the group's supporters. There are over 70 million concealed landmines in over 70 countries that create a lethal harvest for farmers, according to Roots of Peace.
People's Park is owned and operated by the University of California as public open space and a recreational resource for the campus and local community.