We associate peace with a quiet space or time, a moment of silence in the cacophony of voices. But in this day of electronic and political noise it seems that even peace needs to have a louder voice to be heard. Urban birds sing louder than their country cousins, so peace mongers have to speak up too. The Shanti Foundation is planning to do just that with our inaugural event in conjunction with the UN International Day of Peace. Although we line up with a big day of peace we are not aiming at influencing world peace. We see peace more as a personal effort to create islands of sanity, mutual understanding, and respect within personal relationships, families, and communities. Our event will bring together a diverse group of people who might not see themselves as a community.

Indian tabla

We will gather on September 21, 2012 at 7 pm in the Student Union of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, TX. To align our hearts and bodies into a community we will start with an interactive drumming, where the audience becomes the performers. Peace words from many faith and secular writings will form a bridge to a tabla performance in the Sufi tradition. Poetry from the Americas will lead into the last performance of the night: a collaboration between the English and Music Departments of the University, bringing us spoken word and jazz drums. It should be a night of joyful noise for peace. We may even leave with a sense of community. The event is free.