International Peace Day 2026: Amy Banda Mobilises 45 Global Peace Ambassadors to Make Peace an Everyday Investment By Raymond Enoch

Peace, according to Cameroonian peace advocate Amy Banda, cannot be reduced to a headline, a ceasefire agreement or a date on the international calendar—it must be deliberately built, protected and renewed every day.

As the world prepares to mark the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2026, Banda, through her Target Peace platform, is mobilising 45 Peace Ambassadors from across the globe for a global conversation on the theme: “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”

The initiative is designed to shift the conversation around peace from crisis response to daily action, encouraging individuals, communities, governments and institutions to recognise peace as an investment that produces returns in safety, stability, justice, cooperation and human development.

Banda’s journey into peace advocacy gained momentum years ago when violence, fear and uncertainty gripped Cameroon. Rather than wait for peace to return, she created a platform through Target Peace to promote dialogue, prevent violence and build a culture capable of confronting conflict before it takes root.

Through the platform, she has particularly amplified voices that are often marginalised in peacebuilding conversations, with women positioned not merely as victims of violence but as warriors, leaders and everyday architects of peace.

The 2026 theme, she believes, speaks directly to the philosophy behind Target Peace.

“For everyone” means that peace must include women, young people and communities whose voices are frequently overlooked.

“Everywhere” means peace cannot remain confined to diplomatic halls or international conferences. It must be experienced in homes, schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods, markets and online communities.

And “every day” underscores the central argument of the campaign: peacebuilding is not an event but a discipline requiring continuous commitment.

At the Target Peace activity, 45 Peace Ambassadors will examine what society stands to lose when peace is taken for granted, with the session expected to be opened by H.E. Marquis Anthony C. Coleiro, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to Malta.

The ambassadors will draw from the intervention of speakers such as Lazare Etoundi, who has challenged citizens to consider the benefits that come when societies deliberately give peace a chance every day.

The central question—“One Day Without Peace: What Do We Lose?”—will challenge participants to examine the cost of violence and the responsibility of citizens to their communities and nations.

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

Their discussions will explore practical dimensions of peacebuilding, including “Peace as Daily Currency,” “The ROI of Peace,” “Peace is Not Passive,” “Everywhere is Not Somewhere Far,” and “Everyone Means Your Enemy Too.”

Other conversations will focus on how individuals can build personal “peace portfolios” through small daily actions, de-escalate conflicts on WhatsApp and other digital platforms, and use schools, sport, music and art as instruments of peace.

The campaign will also examine the role of mothers, market women, motorcycle taxi operators, teachers, young people and community leaders as the often-unrecognised investors in peace at the grassroots.

The organisers are expected to push the conversation further by asking whether clean streets, quieter neighbourhoods, respectful communication and responsible digital behaviour should also be regarded as investments in peace.

For Banda, the answer is clear: peace is local before it becomes global.

A disagreement in a neighbourhood, a quarrel in a classroom, a hostile exchange on social media or hate speech in a community can become part of a larger culture of division if left unchecked.

Conversely, dialogue, listening, reconciliation, inclusion and responsible communication can create the foundations for peaceful societies.

The Target Peace campaign will also address the difficult question of whether silence should always be regarded as peace, arguing that genuine peace must not be confused with suppressing legitimate grievances or excluding vulnerable groups.

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

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

The activities reinforce her argument that there can be no meaningful investment in peace where women and vulnerable people continue to live under the threat of violence.

Banda is also calling on governments to make concrete investments in peace through effective justice systems, diplomacy, peacekeeping structures and programmes that tackle the root causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality and exclusion.

But she insists that governments cannot carry the responsibility alone.

Individuals, she argues, must equally invest in peace through the way they treat neighbours, resolve disagreements, raise children, communicate online and respond to people with whom they disagree.

The campaign will further promote the idea that peace must speak the language of the people, with conversations extending into Pidgin, Ewondo, French and other local languages to ensure that peacebuilding reaches communities beyond formal institutions.

From the streets of Douala and Yaoundé to classrooms, markets, families, digital platforms and international institutions, Target Peace seeks to demonstrate that peace is built through countless everyday decisions.

The message of the campaign is therefore simple but consequential: peace takes deliberate effort, not luck.

Like a financial investment, peace requires time, attention, resources and commitment today to secure stability and security tomorrow.

And unlike a financial investment, its returns are shared by everyone.

As the world marks International Day of Peace 2026, Amy Banda and Target Peace are putting forward a challenge to governments, communities and individuals alike: do not wait for peace to arrive. Invest in it. Build it. Protect it. Every day, everywhere, and for everyone.