On March 27, 2019 the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI) and the UniHarmony Partners Manila (UPM) as got together for the first time to celebrate intercultural and interfaith peace- and friendship-building on INTERNATIONAL NOWROUZ DAY at the Cultural Center of the Iranian Embassy Manila.
The event was warmly hosted by His Excellency Mohammad Tanhaei (Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines), Cultural Counselor Mohammad Jafarimalak and Dr. Tandis Taghavi (renowned calligrapher), Bahman Samadi (Cultural Secretary and Interpreter), and other members of their gracious community.
UniHarmony Partners Manila is a network of religious and multifaith organizations that is committed to working together in the spirit of mutual respect, understanding and cooperation to build bridges of friendship and common grounds of dialogue among peoples of diverse cultures and beliefs in Manila and elsewhere around the country. The Peacemakers' Circle has been actively contributing to this shared endeavor since UPM first got together as a network sometime in 2010.
WCCI was represented by Swee-Hin Toh (International WCCI president), Emmy Garon (immediate past president of WCCI Philippines) and daughters Alexandra, Marina Merida and Arche Ligos (St. Scholastica's College Manila), Genevieve Balance Kupang and Nico Candelario (St. Paul's College Pasig).
It was a heartwarming meeting and greeting of WCCI with UPM friends --Ted and Asela Arago (Focolare), Haydee Bullos Fajardo (Church of the Latter Day Saints), young representatives of Ven. Miao Jing Fo Guang ShanMabuhay Temple), Fr. Rico Ponce and Carmen Alviar (Institute of Spirituality in Asia), and Fr. Richard JMBabao. The program was hosted by Pablito Bong Baybado (University of Santo Tomas) whose remarkable gift for seamless emceeing made the Nowrouz celebration a success.
International Nowrouz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010. The Cultural Section of the Iranian Embassy described it as an ancestral festivity that marks the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.
H. E. Ambassador Tanhei, eloquently described this occasion as a celebration of a "new day" in our journey together on this planet as we continue to build a harmonious and peaceful world together despite our differences. We were filled with a sense of awe and reverence by the thought as we listened around the table to his quietly delivered but heartfelt poetic reflection.
Nowrouz is a cultural tradition observed in the countries of Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran, Kazakhistan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.