THE PEACE PROJECT
Stand | Sing | Remember
AROUND AUSTRALIA | AROUND THE WORLD
Our next Peace Project
is at the Australian War Memorial!
is at the Australian War Memorial!
we would love youR FAMILY to join us!
Help us make a giant Peace Poppy of Remembrance
The national peace Project
Friday 19 July, 2019
1pm-4pm
at The Australian War Memorial, Canberra
1pm-4pm
at The Australian War Memorial, Canberra
Limited numbers. Booking essential!
Stand together for peace | Stand for veterans and their families | Sing to Remember | Rethink Remembrance
In this, the Centenary of the Year of Peace, you/your school and/or family is invited to join us for an historic National Peace Project at the Australian War Memorial to celebrate the Centenary of Peace Day (19 July, 1919) and help us make a giant peace poppy on the Forecourt.
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend as a school, you are welcome to forward this information on to your school families. Individual families and homeschoolers welcome!
Although the Centenary of Peace Day falls during the school holidays, we would love your school to be involved. As numbers are strictly limited, we ask that you register each school aged participant and parens/teachers attending as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
For students who are coming with their families rather than as a school event, we ask that you also use the registration link below to register as soon as possible.
Full registration link: https://peaceprojectawm2019.eventbrite.com.au
Each registered participant and school will receive a numbered certificate to commemorate their involvement.
What to wear and What to bring
Participants will need to wear a red top or T-shirt (and a red hat if possible). Please also bring a water bottle and some snacks. Backpacks will need to be kept with parents/guardians or teachers during the actual event as there is nowhere in the education space to store bags.
The Educational Experience
The Education Team from the Australian War Memorial have been working closely with the OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service to create a deeply engaging educational experience for all involved. The afternoon will include an educational tour of the Memorial with special reference to the 15 Values in the Hall of Memory, a procession from the Hall of Memory through the Commemorative area to the forecourt outside the Memorial, the forming and filming of a giant peace poppy on the forecourt and singing together as an "improptu" Peace Choir.
The Peace Project is an initiative of The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence. It is an opportunity to engage young people to:
Stand for Peace, Stand for Veteran's and their families, Sing to Remember, Rethink Remembrance for the Next Generation
Peace Projects have already been held in, Rouen (France), Sydney, Bondi Beach, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, also in partnership with Sydney Invictus Games 2018.
To see past Peace Projects, click on the archives tab in the menu above
To register:
https://peaceprojectawm2019.eventbrite.com.au
Basic Outline of Education Program for July 19, 2019
Gallery program to be delivered to students during their visit on 19 July: We will remember them Program outline:This program explores the reasons why we continue to remember the service and sacrifice of Australian servicemen and women, particularly on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day each year. Students will investigate the symbolism of the Memorial's Commemorative Area, identify a name on the Roll of Honour, and explore the Hall of Memory, noting the values included on stained glass windows. They will also have the opportunity to visit the galleries, hearing stories of those who have served in various conflicts in which Australians have served. Suitable for primary and secondary school students (Year 4 - 12). This program is adapted by education staff to suit students at different learning levels.
The "Peace Choir"
Participants, as part of the event will form an improptu "Peace Choir " whist in the Poppy formation and will sing two songs. You/your students do not need any prior singing or music experience to take part in this special "choir".
We will have soloists and small groups sing the verses, so "the Peace Choir" will only need to join in the choruses. If you don't have time to practice the songs, we can assure you the choruses will be able to be picked up on the day! You will receive a copy of the songs once you have registered. If you have a school choir and would like to practice and/or perform the songs at your school, you will also have access to the music, lyric sheets and rehearsal tracks should you wish to use them.
We will record the event and produce a video of the event as we did on Bondi Beach.
You can view it here: Bondi Beach Peace Project Launch
The AWM National Peace Project Coordinator
Email awm@peaceproject.org.au
Websites www.peaceproject.org.au + www.oyc.org.au
Background to Peace Day 1919
"The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, formally ended hostilities. To mark this final ending of 'the war to end all wars' major buildings were decorated with flags. On 30 June church services were held and Australian and British ships fired a 101-gun salute in Sydney Harbour. Official celebrations were held on Saturday 19 July, which was declared 'Peace Day' throughout the British Empire. On the Friday many schools held ceremonies, often including recognition of teachers or former pupils who had served or died. In some suburbs, such as Annandale, Petersham and Redfern, a number of schools combined for joint ceremonies of commemoration including marches and sports carnivals. All schoolchildren were given a peace medal to commemorate the end of the war. [11]
On Peace Day in Sydney major buildings were decorated, bells were rung in churches and public buildings, and huge crowds flocked to the city. Unlike the delirious rejoicing of November 1918, this was a sober celebration and recognition of the huge sacrifice of death and disability among those who served. Indeed, some objected to any celebrations and urged that the money be spent instead to benefit the children of fallen soldiers. The government eventually agreed to scale back its initially ambitious plans. [12]
The major event was a march through the city by more than 10,000 sailors and soldiers, Red Cross and other war workers, a parade which stretched for more than three miles. 'There can never be another sight like it' proclaimed the Sydney Morning Herald. At 11.30 am the parade halted, the bands and choirs played and sang Kipling's 'Recessional', joined by many spectators, bugles sounded the 'Last Post' and three minutes of silence were observed across the city in commemoration of the fallen. A 21-gun salute was fired from the Domain at noon. The afternoon was given over to a regatta on the Harbour and a variety of sporting events. At night, buildings and ships in the harbour were illuminated, there was a fireworks display, and a chain of bonfires was lit around the Harbour and in many suburbs. Although it had been hoped that similar activities could be held in the various suburbs, Sydney was the focus for the day's activities, a fact which caused some complaint. [13]
Many special religious services were held on the Sunday, either in individual churches or as combined services in local parks or halls, often in conjunction with parades of children and returned servicemen. [14]As had occurred in 1918 when the peace treaty was signed, prisoners were granted remissions of a portion of their sentences, including five military offenders who had been convicted of desertion."
Website Reference
What to wear and What to bring
Participants will need to wear a red top or T-shirt (and a red hat if possible). Please also bring a water bottle and some snacks. Backpacks will need to be kept with parents/guardians or teachers during the actual event as there is nowhere in the education space to store bags.
The Educational Experience
The Education Team from the Australian War Memorial have been working closely with the OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service to create a deeply engaging educational experience for all involved. The afternoon will include an educational tour of the Memorial with special reference to the 15 Values in the Hall of Memory, a procession from the Hall of Memory through the Commemorative area to the forecourt outside the Memorial, the forming and filming of a giant peace poppy on the forecourt and singing together as an "improptu" Peace Choir.
The Peace Project is an initiative of The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence. It is an opportunity to engage young people to:
Stand for Peace, Stand for Veteran's and their families, Sing to Remember, Rethink Remembrance for the Next Generation
Peace Projects have already been held in, Rouen (France), Sydney, Bondi Beach, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, also in partnership with Sydney Invictus Games 2018.
To see past Peace Projects, click on the archives tab in the menu above
To register:
https://peaceprojectawm2019.eventbrite.com.au
Basic Outline of Education Program for July 19, 2019
Gallery program to be delivered to students during their visit on 19 July: We will remember them Program outline:This program explores the reasons why we continue to remember the service and sacrifice of Australian servicemen and women, particularly on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day each year. Students will investigate the symbolism of the Memorial's Commemorative Area, identify a name on the Roll of Honour, and explore the Hall of Memory, noting the values included on stained glass windows. They will also have the opportunity to visit the galleries, hearing stories of those who have served in various conflicts in which Australians have served. Suitable for primary and secondary school students (Year 4 - 12). This program is adapted by education staff to suit students at different learning levels.
The "Peace Choir"
Participants, as part of the event will form an improptu "Peace Choir " whist in the Poppy formation and will sing two songs. You/your students do not need any prior singing or music experience to take part in this special "choir".
We will have soloists and small groups sing the verses, so "the Peace Choir" will only need to join in the choruses. If you don't have time to practice the songs, we can assure you the choruses will be able to be picked up on the day! You will receive a copy of the songs once you have registered. If you have a school choir and would like to practice and/or perform the songs at your school, you will also have access to the music, lyric sheets and rehearsal tracks should you wish to use them.
We will record the event and produce a video of the event as we did on Bondi Beach.
You can view it here: Bondi Beach Peace Project Launch
The AWM National Peace Project Coordinator
Email awm@peaceproject.org.au
Websites www.peaceproject.org.au + www.oyc.org.au
Background to Peace Day 1919
"The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, formally ended hostilities. To mark this final ending of 'the war to end all wars' major buildings were decorated with flags. On 30 June church services were held and Australian and British ships fired a 101-gun salute in Sydney Harbour. Official celebrations were held on Saturday 19 July, which was declared 'Peace Day' throughout the British Empire. On the Friday many schools held ceremonies, often including recognition of teachers or former pupils who had served or died. In some suburbs, such as Annandale, Petersham and Redfern, a number of schools combined for joint ceremonies of commemoration including marches and sports carnivals. All schoolchildren were given a peace medal to commemorate the end of the war. [11]
On Peace Day in Sydney major buildings were decorated, bells were rung in churches and public buildings, and huge crowds flocked to the city. Unlike the delirious rejoicing of November 1918, this was a sober celebration and recognition of the huge sacrifice of death and disability among those who served. Indeed, some objected to any celebrations and urged that the money be spent instead to benefit the children of fallen soldiers. The government eventually agreed to scale back its initially ambitious plans. [12]
The major event was a march through the city by more than 10,000 sailors and soldiers, Red Cross and other war workers, a parade which stretched for more than three miles. 'There can never be another sight like it' proclaimed the Sydney Morning Herald. At 11.30 am the parade halted, the bands and choirs played and sang Kipling's 'Recessional', joined by many spectators, bugles sounded the 'Last Post' and three minutes of silence were observed across the city in commemoration of the fallen. A 21-gun salute was fired from the Domain at noon. The afternoon was given over to a regatta on the Harbour and a variety of sporting events. At night, buildings and ships in the harbour were illuminated, there was a fireworks display, and a chain of bonfires was lit around the Harbour and in many suburbs. Although it had been hoped that similar activities could be held in the various suburbs, Sydney was the focus for the day's activities, a fact which caused some complaint. [13]
Many special religious services were held on the Sunday, either in individual churches or as combined services in local parks or halls, often in conjunction with parades of children and returned servicemen. [14]As had occurred in 1918 when the peace treaty was signed, prisoners were granted remissions of a portion of their sentences, including five military offenders who had been convicted of desertion."
Website Reference
2019
CENTENARY OF THE YEAR OF PEACE
Peace and the End of the War
It was 1919. The war had finally ended. Our wounded soldiers were returning home shadows of their former selves with their families and communities still raw from indescribable grief and loss. It was amid all this that the women and children of Australia still found strength to celebrate the end of war and to celebrate peace.
“Invincible in war, triumphant in peace” - inscribed on a 1919 Australian fundraising button.
From fundraising flower days and fairs to dances and peace parties, from church services and concerts to huge Peace Marches across the nation, Australians found ways to celebrate a return to peace as “the boys” (and girls) came home. However, these were not the delirious peace celebrations of 1918, they were a sober coming together of celebration and commemoration for the first time as the nation enjoyed peacetime whilst coming to terms with indescribable grief and loss and the enormous price that had been paid.
A Peace medal was issued to every school aged child, Children held Peace Parties and ran fundraising days as they raised money for veterans and woman’s organisations such as the Red Cross and soldier’s repatriation funds.
“The Australian Red Cross Society shipped £1,522,000 worth of goods to troops and field hospitals in Europe and the Middle East during World War I. In 1919 after the end of the war, Lady Munro-Ferguson at the national annual general meeting praised all the Red Cross volunteers for their dedication and urged them to continue their work in peace time.”
Fundraising Buttons for various “Peace Projects” were created celebrating 1919 as the Year of Peace. The medals, the Peace Medal issued to every school student in 1919.
CENTENARY OF THE YEAR OF PEACE
Peace and the End of the War
It was 1919. The war had finally ended. Our wounded soldiers were returning home shadows of their former selves with their families and communities still raw from indescribable grief and loss. It was amid all this that the women and children of Australia still found strength to celebrate the end of war and to celebrate peace.
“Invincible in war, triumphant in peace” - inscribed on a 1919 Australian fundraising button.
From fundraising flower days and fairs to dances and peace parties, from church services and concerts to huge Peace Marches across the nation, Australians found ways to celebrate a return to peace as “the boys” (and girls) came home. However, these were not the delirious peace celebrations of 1918, they were a sober coming together of celebration and commemoration for the first time as the nation enjoyed peacetime whilst coming to terms with indescribable grief and loss and the enormous price that had been paid.
A Peace medal was issued to every school aged child, Children held Peace Parties and ran fundraising days as they raised money for veterans and woman’s organisations such as the Red Cross and soldier’s repatriation funds.
“The Australian Red Cross Society shipped £1,522,000 worth of goods to troops and field hospitals in Europe and the Middle East during World War I. In 1919 after the end of the war, Lady Munro-Ferguson at the national annual general meeting praised all the Red Cross volunteers for their dedication and urged them to continue their work in peace time.”
- Red Cross Society and World War I in Queensland - by Sarah Minty
Fundraising Buttons for various “Peace Projects” were created celebrating 1919 as the Year of Peace. The medals, the Peace Medal issued to every school student in 1919.
Peace and The Centenary of Anzac
Almost one hundred years later, on 11 November, 2017, the Peace Project was launched on Bondi Beach recreating a WW1 photo taken as part of a fundraiser by NSW school children on “Australia Day” in July 1915.
The Peace Project is an initiative of the OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service and seeks to engage as many young people as possible to:
Stand together for peace
Stand for veterans and their families
Sing to remember
Rethink Remembrance for the next generation
It can be as simple as getting young people together in your community to sing the Peace Project songs as part of a commemorative service or simply knitting and wearing the Peace Poppy or as big as putting hundreds or even thousands of young people together with your community in an iconic shape to be photographed from the air. This can be done on 11 November as part of your commemorative service or as a stand alone project at another time during 2019 or 2020.
A number of Peace Projects have already been held both around Australia and internationally during 2018 with more planned over the next 12 months. Local Peace Projects have already been held on Bondi Beach, NSW Government House, Wagga Wagga, Junee, Leeton and Narooma. Special school Peace Project assemblies have been held in a number of schools including Inaburra Christian School, Wattle Grove Public, Kooringal Public and Holsworthy High. A National online Invictus Games Peace Project was held with young people on the lawns of Government House Sydney. They were joined in song online by over three thousand viewers on Facebook Live and Youtube Live (many of them classrooms and schools) across the nation and around the world. In December 2018, the OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service lead an international Peace Project in Rouen, France with Saint Marie School and the St Remi Choir as part of their Singing Tour of the Western Front.
Peace and The Centenary of the Year of Peace
As we leave the Centenary of Anzac years behind us, let us, in 2019, the Centenary of the Year of Peace, continue the 1919 tradition of commemoration and celebration, celebrating peace by commemorating and honouring those who have sacrificed and still sacrifice for our peace. Let us honour the men and women who have served and who are still serving along with their families. Let us remember both those who gave their lives and those who came home and are still coming home to daily live the horrors of war in their memory. In celebrating national peace, let us also look for ways to better support our veterans (and their families) who return home from conflict to find peace within themselves.
The 2019 Peace Project encourages Australians, whether by birth of by choice, to join our friends across the world, to continue to hold Peace Projects - to stand together for peace, stand for veteran’s and their families, sing to remember and rethink remembrance for the next generation.
As we leave the Centenary of Anzac years behind us, let us, in 2019, the Centenary of the Year of Peace, continue the 1919 tradition of commemoration and celebration, celebrating peace by commemorating and honouring those who have sacrificed and still sacrifice for our peace. Let us honour the men and women who have served and who are still serving along with their families. Let us remember both those who gave their lives and those who came home and are still coming home to daily live the horrors of war in their memory. In celebrating national peace, let us also look for ways to better support our veterans (and their families) who return home from conflict to find peace within themselves.
The 2019 Peace Project encourages Australians, whether by birth of by choice, to join our friends across the world, to continue to hold Peace Projects - to stand together for peace, stand for veteran’s and their families, sing to remember and rethink remembrance for the next generation.
