Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
DVFriends students travel to the UN for International Day of Peace
On Sept. 16, nine students from DVFriends Upper School Model United Nations joined 700 other young people at the UN Headquarters in New York for the annual youth commemoration of the International Day of Peace.
The United Nations sets aside every Sept. 21 as the International Day of Peace, a day to strengthen the ideals of peace by observing 24 hours of non-violence
and cease fire.
This year, the theme was “End Racism, Build Peace.” The virtues of ending racism and bringing peace to our world and in our communities are particularly important to our identity as a Quaker school and reflect our school’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
During their visit, the students heard from the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, some celebrity speakers, as well
as other students who presented their initiatives to end racism.
After the presentations, our students concluded their day with a visit to Quaker House, the home base of QUNO (Quaker United Nations Office) in New York, where they shared their takeaways from the day with QUNO staff and brainstormed ideas for things DVFriends could do in our school and our wider community to fight racism and work for
peace.
Senior Ella Vilardo reflected on the experience saying, “Being selected to visit the UN for Peace Day was an amazing experience I’m proud to be a part of.”
“For students who have shown leadership here at DVFriends, this was a great opportunity to see what actionable leadership looks like from a national and global perspective,” said Upper School Director Jim Miller. “Not only did they hear about initiatives that promote peace and fight racism during their morning at the UN, but they immediately started planning their own initiatives back at the Quaker House.
“I am so proud of the way they took the best parts of the morning’s messaging and started organizing themselves to take action in our own community.”
DVFriends serves bright students in grades 1-12 with learning differences in reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), math (dyscalculia), memory (long-term and working), processing speed, ADHD and executive functioning challenges.
Their Quaker community recognizes and honors the inherent worth of all people. DVFriends teachers guide students to embrace the courage to try, establish the confidence to reach farther and build resilience to succeed in school and beyond.