We must be united, across our different generations, cultures and communities, as active champions in pursuit of one shared, and universal, culture of peace

We must be united, across our different generations, cultures and communities, as active champions in pursuit of one shared, and universal, culture of peace. 

This was the main message which the President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca relayed as she delivered the opening speech during a colloquium organised by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. 

President Coleiro Preca said that she often speaks about peace, as she believes that it is the very foundation of our meaningful existence. “When I speak about peace”, the President said, “I am speaking about a living reality which each and every one of us has a duty to ensure”. 

Referring to the Holocaust, the President said that the memory of the Holocaust cannot be only words, and that the acknowledgement of the suffering endured by many cannot simply be thought which do not translate into a sense of active commitment in favour of peace.

“We must commit ourselves to create a deep change within ourselves, extending it throughout our communities and across our society”, President Coleiro Preca said. 

The President appealed to all those present to commit themselves to create a deep change within themselves, extending it throughout their communities, and across our society. 

“We must cultivate a common culture of peace” 

The President said that empathy must be practiced in our daily lives, “striving to understand the experiences of others”, adding that each and every one of us must  be ready to reach out, to build bridges across the barriers which divide us.  

The President said that when different communities, cultures and faith traditions are united by the strong desire for meaningful peace, they are able to live together in harmony. She said that this has been the experience of many nations in the past, and it can happen again.  

Finally, President Coleiro Preca called for everyone to be united, across different generations, cultures and communities, “as active champions in pursuit of one shared, and universal, culture of peace”.