May Peace Prevail On Earth
This message appears on Peace Poles planted around the globe and at WSU Vancouver. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in 180 countries dedicated as monuments to peace.
A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted memorial typically with four or six sides. Its message is always the same, “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” and is most often displayed in the language of the country and several other languages as well.
WSU Vancouver dedicated its Peace Pole—a gift from the Rotary Club of Vancouver—at an unveiling ceremony April 2019. “May Peace Prevail on Earth” appears in American Sign Language, Arabic, braille, Chinese, Chinuk wawa, English, Lushootseed, Russian, Sahaptin, Spanish, Swahili, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
The 13 languages, the most of any Peace Pole in the area, were carefully selected by a small committee. First and foremost, the committee wanted to honor indigenous languages. Next they carefully considered languages spoken on campus and in the community followed by important languages around the world. Finally, they wanted to include American Sign Language and braille.
WSU Vancouver’s Peace Pole is made from Canadian Western Red Cedar, a renewable resource. It is naturally resistant to decay and insect attack and unlikely to warp, split or crack with age and exposure to weather. WSU Vancouver’s Peace Pole is installed between the Science and Engineering Building, and the Firstenburg Student Commons.
Rotary International, the organization behind the Peace Pole Project, is a worldwide service organization that promotes peace, and conflict prevention and resolution. Local Rotary clubs take on part of this work through gifting Peace Poles in their communities.