Youth affairs ministry gathers stakeholders to celebrate Int’l Peace Day.

Observed annually on September 21, the International Day of Peace centres on the idea that lasting peace depends on the daily choices of ordinary people, not only on treaties and government policy. 

This year's edition was celebrated under the theme: “Invest in peace-for everyone, everywhere, everyday”. Officials said the theme stresses on three core ideas of local action, everyday architects of peace, recognising community leaders, youth, and individuals who choose dialogue over division. 

The day stresses that peace beyond the absence of war, is the presence of safety, dignity, justice, inclusion, and equal opportunity and the daily commitment, framing compassion and kindness as practices to be renewed constantly in homes, schools, and communities. 

The ministry of youth affairs stated that this year's commemoration carried added urgency, with religious councils, civil society groups, and youth organisations linking the peace theme directly to a sharp rise in gender-based violence and femicide. 

Advocacy groups, including StopFemicides237 and the Cameroon National Youth Council, used the event to raise alarm over dozens of femicide cases nationwide, including several killings reported within a few days. 

Organisations framed the protection of women's lives as inseparable from any genuine national peace. Participants, during the sports walk, took part in stretching exercises before a programme of remarks by some officials. 

The sports walk was attended by Senator Françoise Puène and Prof Paschal Kum Awah, and officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education. They used the event to reject hate speech, war, and specifically femicide. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3918 of Wednesday September 23, 2026