Communities come together to lighting up lives

It all starts with a dream.

Working together to manifest a World Peace Flame monument is an act of peace in itself. The team of friends from Venlo, The Netherlands, succeeded and this catalysed inter-cultural community programmes in their city.

The monument, in stone and glass, was installed in the Juliana Park in the centre of the city.

The eternal flame was ceremoniously lit by Mansukh Patel and Savitri MacCuish in a celebration involving children and local artists amid the presence of hundreds of people from across Europe.

The journey of the flame began in the morning of 5 June at the World Peace Flame Monument in The Hague.

Transferred into a traditional brass Welsh miners lamp the National Railway company made a special carriage available to carry the Flame to Venlo in style.

On its arrival, the WPF was welcomed by crowds of supporters who joined a celebratory Peace Walk through the city.

The campaign to create the monument was conceived by local citizens after Venlo was rocked by inter-cultural violence. It was broadly supported by the city council and civic groups.

The inauguration brought together more than 1,000 people from a wide diversity of backgrounds, affirming their commitment to actively building peace in their community.