Peace Day 2018

Cabra-Vale Diggers Club has been at the forefront of the Anzac Fowler electorate project committee for the past 5 years. The club worked in close association with other clubs, local high schools and the national servicemen’s organisation to provide a learning platform for the local community. The committee focussed resources on supporting the Peace Day celebrations event which was held at Cabramatta High School. They believed that this was a fitting conclusion to Centenary events in the Fowler Electorate. This allowed the existing Remembrance Day Services to increase awareness and relevance for the local clubs, schools and the wider community when attending the commemorative events in their local districts. Over 2,000 students attended the Peace Day event on Tuesday 13 November 2018 at Cabramatta High School. The Sydney Peace prize winner for 2018, Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, was the guest of school for the event. Known as “The People’s Professor”, in 2001 he received a shared Nobel Prize for his innovative work on world information economics.

Prior to the Peace Day relay event on Friday 9 November 2018 the art department of Cabramatta High School made over 500 Ceramic white poppies and a set of Poppies for the Peace Garden in the schools grounds. The garden of ceramic poppies, emphasises the journey of war to peace with the deep red poppy, followed by the mixed red and white poppy and finally the white poppy of peace. The relay was conducted through the local area. The route devised by students at Cabramatta High School. At each point of contact a ceramic white poppy was presented to a community representative to symbolise the importance of Peace.

The Peace Day celebrations were held at Cabramatta High School with the theme “A New World is Possible” The students of the school played a significant role in diverse aspects of the event. From the organising committee through to the sound and lighting they designed and directed the event with close support from the teachers and Principal.

The culmination of the assembly saw the guests move to the school quadrangle where over 22 schools were represented. The official party were escorted through the Peace Garden. Joseph Stiglitz addressed the student cohort, the peace bell was rung, students performed a peace dance with large white dove balloons and a flock of white doves was released to the skies in closing the event.

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