Int'l Peace Day 2026: Amy Banda mobilizes 45 global peace ambassadors to champion peace as daily investment

For Cameroonian peace advocate Amy Banda, peace is not a headline, a ceasefire, or a date marked on the calendar. It is a daily commitment that must be built, protected and renewed.

As the world prepares to commemorate the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2026, Banda, through her Target Peace platform, is mobilizing 45 Peace Ambassadors from around the world for a global dialogue under the theme: "Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day."

The initiative seeks to reframe peacebuilding - from a reaction to crisis, to a deliberate daily practice. It calls on individuals, communities, governments and institutions to treat peace as an investment that yields returns in security, justice, stability, cooperation and human development.

Banda's journey into peace advocacy took root at a time when violence, fear and uncertainty gripped Cameroon. Rather than wait for peace to return, she founded Target Peace as a platform to foster dialogue, prevent violence and nurture a culture capable of addressing conflict before it escalates.

Through the platform, she has amplified voices often marginalized in peacebuilding - particularly women - not as victims of violence, but as warriors, leaders and architects of everyday peace.

She says the 2026 theme captures the core philosophy of Target Peace:

-For Everyone: Peace must include women, youth and communities whose voices are frequently overlooked.

- Everywhere: Peace cannot be confined to diplomatic halls and international conferences. It must be lived in homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, markets and online spaces.

-Every Day: Peacebuilding is not an event, but a daily discipline.

The Target Peace global conversation will bring together 45 Peace Ambassadors to reflect on what the world loses when peace is taken for granted. The session is expected to be opened by *H.E. Marquis Anthony C. Coleiro, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to Malta.

Ambassadors will draw inspiration from speakers including Lazare Etoundi, who has challenged citizens to imagine the dividends of giving peace a chance every day.

At the heart of the dialogue is a provocative question: "One Day Without Peace: What Do We Lose?"

Among the speakers expected are Dr. Karen Bruges, Beatrice Orji, Manka Edith Abumbi, Vivian Nguimeya, Arielle Noupaye Ornella and Anthony Nwana, alongside other global peace advocates.

Discussions will explore practical dimensions of peacebuilding, including:

- Peace as Daily Currency

- The ROI (Return on Investment) of Peace

- Peace is Not Passive

- Everywhere is Not Somewhere Far

- Everyone Means Your Enemy Too

Participants will also examine how individuals can build a personal "peace portfolio" through small daily actions, how to de-escalate conflict on WhatsApp and other digital platforms, and how schools, sports, music and art can become instruments of peace.

The campaign will spotlight often-unrecognized grassroots investors in peace - mothers, market women, motorcycle taxi riders, teachers, youth and community leaders.

It will also ask whether clean streets, quiet neighborhoods, respectful communication and responsible digital behavior should be considered investments in peace.

For Banda, peace is local before it becomes global. A neighborhood quarrel, a classroom disagreement, a hostile social media exchange or hate speech in a community, if unchecked, can fuel a broader culture of division. Conversely, dialogue, listening, reconciliation, inclusion and responsible communication lay the foundation for peaceful societies.

The campaign will also challenge the misconception that silence equals peace, arguing that genuine peace cannot be built on suppressing legitimate grievances or excluding vulnerable groups.

The initiative comes as part of Banda's broader advocacy for women's safety and the fight against gender-based violence.

As part of this commitment, she will join the Red Friday Movement walks in Yaoundé on September 19 and Douala on September 26, in a campaign against femicides.

The action reinforces her message that there can be no meaningful investment in peace where women and vulnerable groups continue to live under the threat of violence.

While calling on governments to invest concretely in peace through effective justice systems, diplomacy, peacekeeping and programs that tackle root causes of conflict such as poverty, inequality and exclusion, Banda insists the responsibility cannot rest with governments alone.

Individuals, she argues, must invest in peace through how they treat neighbors, resolve disputes, raise children, communicate online and engage with those they disagree with.

To ensure inclusion, Target Peace will take the conversation beyond formal institutions, using Pidgin, Ewondo, French and other local languages to bring peacebuilding to the grassroots - from the streets of Douala and Yaoundé to classrooms, markets, families and digital platforms.

The message is simple but profound: peace does not happen by luck. It happens by deliberate effort.

Like a financial investment, peace demands time, attention, resources and commitment today to guarantee stability tomorrow. Unlike financial investment, however, its dividends are shared by everyone.

As the world marks International Day of Peace 2026, Amy Banda and Target Peace are issuing a clear call to governments, communities and individuals: Do not wait for peace to arrive. Invest in it. Build it. Protect it - every day, everywhere, and for everyone.

Building on decades as the "Voice of the Voiceless," she is inviting dozens of journalists this Wednesday September 16 to the Peace Bus Association to build excitement and spark conversation around the new book.

She will introduce the author of "Peace and Human Rights Education in Schools," Vivian NGUIMEYA, in a meet-and-greet session.

Little wonder that the National Chair of the G100 Zero Hunger Mission was just named THE ENGLISH VOICE OF AFRICA — TAKAD 7, following the recently concluded CEMAC Tour in Cameroon.

She also continues to hold the title of BEST TV PRESENTER OF THE CONTINENT — TAKAD 6.

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