Peace Bell Action in Roerich Museum

The Nicholas Roerich international museum-centre will host the Peace Bell action on Thursday, March 20, the day of vernal equinox. People should reflect on what they can do to preserve our planet and to improve the life of all living creatures on the Earth. This is the main idea of the action.

The world is on the brink of war and peace. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's words he said by the Peace Bell in New York, are acquiring great importance, "All nations must unite against the forces of darkness and depravity." The first Peace Bell was placed in New York. It was cast from coins donated by children of all the continents and symbolises global solidarity. After that, peace bells appeared in Hiroshima and Vienna.

The tradition to celebrate the vernal equinox day by the Peace Bell occurred to the UN headquarters in New York in 1971. In 1997 cosmonaut Anatoly Berezovoi took part in this ceremony. He brought this idea to Russia. Since 1998 the Peace Bell has been ringing in an old estate, where the Roerich Museum is situated.

The International Roerich Museum Centre, the Znanie International Humanitarian Foundation, the Cosmonautics Federation of Russia, the International Culture Protection League, the Moscow government and the UN programme for stable development of cities are the sponsors of the action in Russia.

Representatives of the UN information centre in Moscow, the UNESCO Bureau in Moscow and the Moscow government, heads of the Peace Bell international project, cosmonauts and public figures are invited to the ceremony, said the press centre of the Roerich Museum.