In a world stricken by disease, poverty, and arguably most detrimental of all, war, it’s important to recognize something we should all strive for: peace. Luckily, that’s exactly what art students at Millard North do every year for International Day of Peace.

The International Day of Peace was first celebrated in 1982. The previous year, both the U.K. and Costa Rica came up with the idea, introducing it to the United Nations General Assembly. The countries’ representatives established that this was a day for the commemoration of peace all across the world. The UN has indeed used it as the day coalitions could send relief to  citizens in war-torn areas.

The message seemed to stick all across the world, one stop being of course our school. According to the Art Head of Millard, Jeanne Kelley, Millard North has been creating “Pinwheels for Peace”, a group founded in 2005 that collects money for peace efforts, for 8 years to help spread the message. Every fall, all Millard North Art Students design and create pinwheels that are displayed on the 21st of September.

While it seems a small effort to confront a large problem, it’s one of the most important days and symbols to acknowledge and seek to solve systemic violence.

Photos by Odochi Akwani