International Day of Peace 2025
Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Kenya, in partnership with Global Peace Women (GPW), joined families, educators, youth, and community leaders at Kayole South Secondary School in Nairobi to commemorate the International Day of Peace 2025. The celebration, themed “Peace Starts in the Home,” emphasized the family as the foundation of lasting peace and harmony in society.
In her keynote address, Hanako Ikeno, International President of Global Peace Women, emphasized that peace starts with the choices people make within their own homes. “Peace is supposed to begin in the home. Families are a key agent of peacebuilding because the peace we want in our communities, nations, and the world starts at home,” she said.
International Day of Peace 2025
Her message echoed GPF’s global approach to values-based peacebuilding, which emphasizes strengthening families and communities as the primary agents of moral and social transformation. Speaking at the event, Daniel Juma, Africa Regional Representative of the Global Peace Foundation, reaffirmed GPF’s commitment to investing in families as a pathway to sustainable peace. “When parents nurture values of empathy, honesty, and responsibility, they equip their children to be future leaders,” he said.
The program featured a presentation on “Women as Architects of Peace” by Janet Kwamboka Miyogo, followed by a panel discussion on women’s leadership in advancing social transformation through family values. Youth participants also engaged in an interactive dialogue on empowerment and peacebuilding, emphasizing their role in promoting harmony across generations.
International Day of Peace 2025
Throughout the day, participants engaged in storytelling sessions, volunteer testimonials, and family-centered workshops designed to strengthen relationships, resolve conflicts, and promote nonviolence at home. The activities reflected GPF’s belief that peacebuilding must begin with moral and innovative actions that reinforce shared values within families and communities. To symbolize the day’s shared commitment to peace and environmental stewardship, families joined in planting twelve trees on the school grounds. The exercise served as a reminder that, like trees, peace must be intentionally planted, nurtured, and sustained through continuous effort.
The celebration in Kenya was part of GPF’s broader global observance of the International Day of Peace 2025, which was commemorated on September 21, 2025, worldwide under the theme “Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals”. Through initiatives that integrate character education, interfaith collaboration, and community service, GPF continues to advance innovative, values-based peacebuilding models that address the root causes of conflict and inspire cooperation beyond boundaries of religion, culture, and nationality.
