"The story it tells is a glorious one: how a century ago a determined band of campaigners trailed door to door persuading a third of all Welsh women to sign a petition calling for world peace and delivered it to the US. But the idea of a new exhibition at the National Library of Wales is not just to remember an historical event but, in these troubled times, to inspire the belief that change is possible."
"Mererid Hopwood, a poet and peace campaigner, said giving the petition a permanent home in the grand library overlooking the sea in Aberystwyth was a statement of faith and hope. It gives us an opportunity to be inspired by the past so that we imagine and create a future where the people of the world can coexist peacefully with one another, she said."
"The sentiments may sound fanciful and idealistic, but the return of the petition from the US to Wales two years ago has already inspired a wave of peace activism led by women and girls, from festivals to fasts and banner-making. Jill Evans, a former MEP and another prominent peace activist, said: The return of the petition had been a catalyst. It's brought so many women, so many communities together. People see so much violence and death on television every day and want to do something."
A century ago Welsh women canvassed streets collecting signatures for a petition calling for world peace, securing almost 400,000 names. Delegates carried the petition to the United States in 1924, addressing public meetings, women's clubs and churches. The petition was later forgotten until a plaque referring to it was uncovered during the centenary of the first world war and the petition was located in the US and returned to Wales two years ago. The National Library of Wales now houses the petition in an exhibition intended to inspire belief that change is possible. The petition's return has sparked contemporary peace activism led by women and girls.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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