Albany’s first peace pole carries message in 8 languages
A ceremony dedicating Albany's new peace pole at Solano and Cornell avenues will be held Friday at 4 p.m.
Albany’s first peace pole will be dedicated Friday afternoon, bringing a worldwide symbol of peace to the city.
The eight-sided peace pole, a joint project of the Rotary Club of Albany and Albany Unified School District, will be permanently installed at the corner of Solano and Cornell avenues across from the district’s enrollment office.
The pole displays the message "May peace prevail on earth" in English, Mandarin, Spanish, Nepali, Korean, Japanese, Hebrew and Portuguese — languages chosen to reflect the diversity of the school district and University Village, Rotarian Howard McNenny told Albany Scanner.
The project is part of the international Peace Pole Project, a movement founded by Japanese philosopher Masahisa Goi. The handcrafted monuments feature the universal message of peace in multiple languages and are often installed by a community's local Rotary Club.
May Peace Prevail On Earth International, a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization affiliated with the United Nations, estimates that more than 200,000 peace poles have been installed around the world, including on every continent.
Neighboring Berkeley has several established Peace Poles, but this will be Albany's first. The project fits with Rotary International’s emphasis on promoting peace and bringing community members together through service, McNenny said.
McNenny said the Rotary Club wanted to bring the first peace pole to Albany and found an "enthusiastic partner" in the school district.
Friday's ceremony will feature remarks from Rotary Club president Judy Kerr, AUSD Superintendent Sara Stone, Mayor Peggy McQuaid and Albany Fire Chief Tim Smyser.
Berkeley psychotherapist and poet Eliot Schain, author of American Romance and Westering Angels, will also read his poem "Those Other Boys."
The event begins at 4 p.m. at the corner of Solano and Cornell and is free and open to the public.
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