Published: September 25, 2025
BREWERVILLE, Montserrado County — The Center for Peace Education (CPE) joined the world on Sunday, September 21, to commemorate World Peace Day 2025, urging Liberians to embrace unity, forgiveness, and healing as foundations for national recovery.
Speaking at the Moulton Corner program outside Monrovia, Emmett Teage, CPE’s Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, stressed that true success begins with cultivating a peaceful mind. “Peace is a characteristic of God that calms wild situations and creates the foundation for agreeable relationships,” he said.
Teage emphasized that peace in Liberia depends on love, honesty, respect, and the responsible management of resources. “The change we desire in our country depends on how we treat each other, how we perform our duties honestly, and how we manage resources for the collective good,” he noted.
Six Principles for Lasting Peace
Mr. Teage outlined six principles to address conflict and foster peace:
- Determine the real issue.
- Don’t be distracted by symptoms.
- Deal with problems decisively.
- Don’t retaliate against personal attacks.
- Avoid defensiveness.
- Decide to forgive.
He challenged Liberians to uphold the law without fear or favor and called for a justice system free of politics.
Peace Beyond Absence of War
In a dispatch from the United States, Dr. Mainlehwon Ebenezer Vonhm, Founder and Executive Director of CPE, reminded Liberians that peace is not just the absence of war. “True peace means justice, unity, and opportunity for every citizen,” he said, calling on government to increase support for peace education.
“Peace begins with each of us,” Dr. Vonhm declared. “Together, we can make Liberia a shining example of reconciliation, resilience, and sustainable peace.”
17 Years of Impact
For 17 years, the Center for Peace Education has worked with children and youth affected by war, teaching conflict resolution, emotional healing, and nonviolence. By blending traditional Liberian peace rituals with modern peacebuilding tools, CPE has empowered thousands of young people to become peace ambassadors in their schools and communities.
Madam Decalay Terlawally, a parent from the host community, praised the Center’s role. “They are teaching our children values of peace, and we are already seeing the difference in their lives,” she said.
World Peace Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 and is observed globally on September 21. This year’s commemoration centered on using peace education to foster dialogue, forgiveness, and resilience in post-conflict societies like Liberia.
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