For centuries, the natural space between trees has been considered sacrosanct. First nations dwelt on the spirituality that existed in the metaphor of the tree. A tree’s roots grasp the earth and are nurtured by it, while its branches reach out to the endless possibilities of the heavens. Ancient cultures such as the Greeks and the Vikings believed that the space between trees was “Bosco Sacro” – Sacred Space.
The Global Peace Parks Project builds on the success of IIPT’s 1992 “Peace Parks across Canada” Project commemorating Canada’s 125th birthday as a nation. IIPT conceived and implemented “Peace Parks across Canada” which resulted in 350 Peace Parks being dedicated by cities and towns from St. John’s, Newfoundland on the shores of the Atlantic, across five time zones to Victoria, British Colombia on the shores of the Pacific.
As part of its 30th Anniversary Year events, IIPT has launched a “Global Peace Parks Project” with a goal of 2,000 Peace Parks circling the earth by November 11, 2020 to commemorate the Centenary of the end of World War I and its theme “No More War”. The project builds on the foundations of IIPT’s Peace Parks across Canada Project in 1992 commemorating Canada’s 125th birthday as a nation. That project resulted in 350 cities and towns dedicating a park to peace and was said to be the most significant of more than 25,000 Canada 125 Projects.
IIPT International Peace Parks have since been dedicated as a legacy of each IIPT International Conferences and Global Summits and subsequently re-dedicated as the featured event of the on Opening Day of the UNWTO 20th General Assembly, 2013 co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe.