On July 31, 2024, in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Islands, in the middle of the Arctic Circle, the most “northern” human symbol of peace in history was created. Thirty people, including scientific and logistical personnel from 10 different nations, gathered in a personal capacity to give a message of peace and non-violence from the most distant latitudes.
Among the nations represented were Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, France, South Korea, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. Ny-Ålesund represents the northernmost permanent community on the planet, where scientists come every year to conduct research on climate, ecosystems, the atmosphere and space. This community, based on its multicultural vocation and cooperation, has sent a clear signal to say that human beings are capable of taking peace and non-violence further, even geographically, than war and violence can reach.
The symbol is part of the route of the Third World March for Peace and Non-Violence, which will depart from Costa Rica on October 2 to circumnavigate the planet, thus including the Arctic on the route!
The participants were filled with emotion and gratitude for what they had achieved and for having had the opportunity to give a sign of peace and unity in these times of violence and conflict. Immediately after the creation of the symbol, all those present signed a peace flag, intending to take it to Costa Rica for the opening ceremony of the World March on October 2 of this year.
Flag that participants plan to carry before the opening ceremony of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to be held in Mexico next September, thanks to the collaboration of Rafael de La Rubia, promoter of the World March and member of the Academic Board of the Permanent Secretariat of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.
The hope of those who created the symbol, based on the example of the scientific community in Ny-Ålesund, is to demonstrate that through non-violence, cooperation and collaboration, and by valuing personal and cultural diversity, human beings are capable of achieving much more and going much further than through violence and competition.
One day, a “skin” of humanity and solidarity will cover the planet, making borders, contradictions and suffering disappear. The actions and thoughts of today’s men and women of peace and non-violence trace the lines along which this “skin” will be sewn back together. The symbolic act of Ny-Ålesund marked an important point in this process, moving the map of peace and non-violence that Human Beings have made to date to the far north.