Why do we celebrate World Peace Day in schools in Spain on 30 January?

You may notice students dressed in white and carrying doves, balloons or pacifist placards as they return from school. This is because on Thursday, 30 January, schoolchildren all over Spain are celebrating the School Day of Non-violence and Peace (DENIP). This is a non-governmental initiative set up in Spain in 1964 by the poet and pacifist Llorenç Vidal, who was inspired by the work of Mahatma Gandhi.

This date was chosen because it is the day on which Gandhi, India's spiritual leader and regarded as a significant figure in the pacifist movement, died in 1948. For Gandhi, peace was the only way for people to avoid harm, evil and injustice. Thanks to his peaceful resistance, he succeeded in ending British colonial rule in India, achieving independence in 1947.

In 1964, the Mallorcan teacher Vidal decided to bring Gandhi's message to schools and since then this day has been celebrated across Spain. With the hashtag #SchoolDayofPeaceandNonviolence, the key message of this initiative is 'Universal Love, Non-violence and Peace', and was officially recognised by Unesco in 1993. It is a precursor to the United Nations-sanctioned holiday, the International Day of Peace, which takes place on 21 September.

In Spanish schools there are poems, songs and games spreading messages of hope and pleas for peace.