Although it seems to pass almost unnoticed, September 21 was designated by a 1982 United Nations resolution as "The International Day of Peace." More than 2000 organizations in nearly 200 nations have endorsed that recognition, but the question that should be asked is why just an annual one-day recognition.

     "Constant" is the key word for Rotarians, and perhaps there is no better example of that than in The Philippines, where Rotary Clubs used the September "Day of Peace" to launch their own ongoing "Partnership for Peace." Their immediate goal was to enlist Filipino Rotarians as peacemakers in Mindanao, the country's southernmost region. Tensions there have been high for years, with a Muslim majority seeking greater autonomy, protested by Roman Catholic politicians and community leaders.

     Violence escalated when government negotiations broke down, and the Red Cross reported that about 100 civilians have been killed and more than half a million people have lost their homes and livelihoods, creating a growing refugee crisis.

     What can Rotary do? And what is Rotary doing? Quezon City Rotarians, led by Don Flordeliza of the Biak-na-bato club, organized 27 area Rotary Clubs in the "Partnership for Peace," with its 2006 launching ceremonies attended by representatives of various national government agencies. Organized as the "Fleur-de-lis Centre for Peace, Inc." centre4peace.ph/home.html, the peace advocates extended their efforts in multiple venues.

     Encouraging a new generation opposing violence, they launched contests among 94 public elementary schools and 46 public high schools in Quezon City. Similar competition was extended to schools in Pasay City. The elementary grades competed in peace paintings, and high school students in essay writing. The student theme was "Peace in the Hearts and Minds of Youth."

     With a reach into the embattled Mindanao area, Rotarians in Digos City joined a local effort for peace, rallying under the theme "Mindanao Cries for Peace." Their appeal also was extended to the younger generation with initiatives at four colleges.

     But peace, in The Philippines as elsewhere, is far more than the absence of war. Peace can only be achieved if it is in the hearts and minds, the motives and efforts, of individuals. And this is where Rotary can have its greatest impact. We must overcome the emphasis on negatives, those things on which people disagree. And we must concentrate on positives, the universal desires of all people.

     Violence erupts when there is controversy over power, dominance, territorial control. It might be summarized that violence is ego-driven. But what all people have in common is far more basic: home and family, education and opportunity, employment and income, security and peace.

     This is Rotary's opportunity. This is Rotary's challenge. Like the Rotarians of The Philippines, Rotarians everywhere have the opportunity to heed the words of a song from many years past: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." With that kind of emphasis on promoting goodwill, "Peace is Possible!"