Peace messages from students

JAKARTA (JP): Those who pass by the United Nations office on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta may have already spotted three jumbo banners suspended from the building.

The eye-catching banners contain messages of peace and pleas for inter-cultural understanding and nonviolence. The messages were written by students from 23 senior high school schools with the support of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

According to UNESCO director, and representative to Indonesia and the Philippines, Stephen Hill, the official launching of the banners for peace installation will be held at Kampung Tenda Semanggi street cafe complex at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, 1999.

"The launch of the installation coincides with the First Inter-School Peace and Non-Violence Forum to be held on the morning of May 8 at the UNESCO office at the UN building," he said in a statement on Monday.

The forum involving 23 Jakarta senior high schools (SMP, SMU, STM and SMK), will focus on resolving inter-school gang violence. Participants at the forum will meet every two months.

"Both the banners and the forum are products from a UNESCO program that targets tolerance, understanding and peace among the youth of Indonesia," Hill said.

The program has received support from the government of Denmark and the British Council. Production of 10,000 posters, stickers and T-shirts bearing peace messages from young people is underway and will be available shortly.