Peace Pole installation commemorated at Sonama County Office of Education, California – USA 

April 3, 2024

SCOE-Sonoma County of Education staff and representatives of Veterans for Peace and Windsor Rotary commemorated the installation of a Peace Pole at the Skylane offices on April 3, 2024.

The Peace Pole’s simple message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth,” was authored by activist Masahisa Goi in 1955, inspired by the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. Goi hoped that those who speak, act, and live with this phrase as their guiding light would bring the world together and improve humanity through their purifying force of will.

That message appears on the SCOE Peace Pole in eight languages — English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Pomo, Tagalog, Korean, and American Sign Language — plus Braille. These languages were selected because they are the current and historical languages most spoken in Sonoma County, and with the student population that SCOE serves.

Fred Ptucha of Veterans for Peace led SCOE staff in a peace pledge:

I pledge to use my words to speak in a kind way.
I pledge to help others as I go throughout my day.
I pledge to care for our Earth with my healing heart and hands.
I pledge to respect people in each and every land.
I pledge to join together as we unite the big and small.
I pledge to do my part to create peace for one and all.

The Peace Pole at SCOE is one of more than 250,000 spread across more than 100 countries. Its simple message is a reminder to think, speak, and act in a spirit of peace and harmony. It’s a call to reject violence, not just for Earth’s nations, but for all its inhabitants.