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Monument to World Peace
Monumento à Paz Mundial
LocationGoiânia, Goiás, Brazil
DesignerSiron Franco
MaterialConcrete
Height5 meters
Completion date1988
Dedicated toWorld Peace

The Monument to World Peace (Monumento à Paz Mundial) is an art work created by the artist Siron Franco. It is located in the Bosque dos Buritis park in the West Sector of Goiânia, in the state of Goiás, Brazil. The monument symbolizes the possibility of uniting all peoples in a project for world peace.[1] Additionally, it commemorates the first anniversary of the radiological accident involving Cesium-137 in Goiânia, considered the worst radiological incident globally. The monument was completed in 1988 and was commissioned by the Bahá'í International Community, a non-governmental organization associated with the Bahá'í Faith.[2] In 1992, during the ECO-92, a replica of the monument was unveiled in Praça 22 de Abril in downtown Rio de Janeiro.[3][4]

Description

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The monument stands five meters tall and was designed by Siron Franco at the request of the Bahá'í Community. It was gifted to the municipality of Goiânia. Constructed from concrete, it weighs approximately fifty tons.[5] The structure is shaped like an hourglass, symbolizing the urgency of achieving world peace. Its central section contains multiple glass compartments separated by vertical bands in yellow, blue, white, green, and red, each holding soil samples from the five continents.[6] A larger compartment contains a mixture of soil from all continents. The hourglass bears the quote from Bahá'u'lláh: "The Earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."[citation needed]

History

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The Bahá'í Community of Goiânia initiated the foundation of the Monument to World Peace during the International Year of Peace in 1986, at the first National Symposium on Peace in the Nuclear Era, held in September of that year at the Castro's Park Hotel. The foundation was laid on the International Day of Peace (at that time, the third Tuesday of September, as established by the United Nations). The work was completed in 1988, during the second National Symposium on Peace in the Nuclear Era. Since then, the Bahá'í Community has annually celebrated this day with a ceremony to deposit soil samples sent by the embassies and diplomatic representations of various countries in Brazil. As of now, the monument contains soil samples from 101 different countries.[citation needed]

In Goiânia, the celebration of the International Day of Peace is part of the Bahá'í Week of Goiânia, officially recognized by the municipal executive power through Decree No. 534, dated 17 September 1984, which established 15 to 21 September of each year as Bahá'í Week in Goiânia. Currently, the United Nations has designated 21 September as the International Day of Peace.[citation needed]

At its inauguration on 20 September 1988, the monument contained soil from twelve countries: Algeria, Australia, Brazil, United States, Ghana, Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Switzerland, Soviet Union, and Uruguay. The unveiling of the monument marked the first anniversary of the Cesium-137 accident in Goiânia.[citation needed]

A year after its inauguration, in 1989, soil from four additional countries was added: Bulgaria, Senegal, Suriname, and Czechoslovakia. To this day, soil from other countries continues to be added to the monument. From Japan, a handful of star-shaped sand grains was included. Every year, four countries send their soil samples. The ceremony of adding these samples takes place on World Environment Day, when children dressed in traditional costumes of the represented countries deposit the soil in the monument.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Monument to World Peace". Goiânia City Hall. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Monument to World Peace holds soil from countries on five continents". Portal 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ^ "International Day of Peace". Bahá'í Community of Brazil. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Monument to World Peace". Monumentos do Rio. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Goiânia preserves memory". Turismo Goiânia. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  6. ^ "Uol Turismo – Monuments of Goiânia". Uol Turismo. Archived from the original on 22 May 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
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