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News:

THANK YOU EVERYONE!
The UCI Peace Flag Process was a tremendous success thanks to the work of so many committed and enthusiastic people from the campus and community. Your work really made a difference in helping to raise awareness of much of the suffering happening around the world today, and in helping to spark discussions all over the community about how peace can best be achieved.

Please check back in the next few weeks for some exciting updates to the site. We will be posting pictures of the events that took place throughout the week, as well as linking to news sources from around Orange County that covered the project. We're also going to take up the huge task of documenting every individual flag, and adding a section to the site that will guide other organizations in their efforts to put on their own peace flag project.

What will Campaign for Conscience do now?
To those of you who will still be around next year, you won't be alone! Campaign for Conscience will continue its mission of engaging the UCI community and raising awareness about local/global issues. Do have any suggestions for next year? Or would you like to be involved? Please contact us at campaignforconscience@gmail.com.

About Us:

Campaign for Conscience has been established to promote peace and compassion on the UCI campus while raising questions about local and global responsibility and ethical leadership and action.

The organization was established in 2007 by Rebecca Westerman, whose artistic conception of The Peace Flag Project was made possible when she received The XIV Dalai Lama Endowed Scholarship at the Univeristy of California, Irvine.

For information on how you can help support this project and make a difference locally and globaly, please contact us at campaignforconscience@gmail.com.

The Peace Flag Project:

In May 2008 Inner Ring Road will be circled with several hundred 'Peace Flags' whose aim will be to raise awareness about the 40+ ongoing armed conflicts in our world. Conceptually modeled after Tibetan prayer flags, which traditionally promote wisdom, peace, compassion, and strength, each Peace Flag will be a large square of colored fabric with a statement providing information about one of the many ongoing conflicts. The Peace Flags will be made by various campus groups and clubs, another facet of the project being to unite the UCI campus in a communal effort for peace and compassion.

Our intention is to show the extent to which conflict pervades our world and the extent to which peace is desperately needed. Because we do not confront these conflicts on a daily basis in our normal lives as Orange County students or in our popular media, it is easy and natural to ignore that they are a constant reality for millions of people around the world. To be uninformed is to be complicit, in that many of the things we buy, use or support contribute indirectly to these problems. Perpetuating the state and habit of ignorance does not contribute to a more positive world for oneself or others.

By transforming the campus into an encounter with global issues, it is hoped that more and more individuals will be inspired to recognize their place in humanity and to examine their role in it. Ultimately, it is hoped that people will be aesthetically moved by the Peace Flags to lead a more active and compassionate life.

Sample Peace Flags:

The statements for these sample flags were written in May 2007 as part of the proposal for this project. When the actual project is put up in May of 2008, flags like these will circle Aldrich Park, giving information about numerous global conflicts, and inspiring the UCI community to pay attention and get involved instead of turning a blind eye.