Thursday is the beginning of 11 Days of Global Unity: a worldwide celebration that aims to bring people together in hope of bringing attention to some of the world’s most pertinent problems.

11 Days is an annual event started in 2004 by a non-profit organization called We, the World.

According to We, the World’s Web site, the purpose of the celebration is to foster a “culture of peace” in the world and to create sustainability for the future.

More than 60 countries will be celebrating 11 Days, and many cities throughout the U.S. are hosting their own local events.

Heather Withers, minister of Unity Church of Ames, said this is the first year Ames will be joining the celebration.

“Hopefully at the end of it we have more people who are conscious of peace and sustainability and wanting to make a difference in Ames and the world,” Withers said.

Withers said she is coordinating the events in Ames, which will take place between Sept. 11 and Sept. 21.

She said it is no mistake that the 11 Days celebration begins on the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Unity World Day of Prayer, and ends on Sept. 21 — the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

“We’re hoping, symbolically, people go from fear to hope,” Withers said.

Nate Logsdon, senior in English, is also helping organize events during the 11 Days while also representing the campus group Time For Peace.

He said he has helped organize a variety of activities, including some concerts, a songwriters’ circle and a poetry reading.

A large number of the programs and events during the 11 Days have to do with peace and unity, but others are dedicated to environmental issues, Withers said.

“It’s like peace on the earth, but also peace with the earth,” she said.

Logsdon said this celebration is important for students because of the world’s current social state.

“We live in a very divisive culture,” he said. “There’s a lot of really dangerous conflict and tension around the world. We want to work toward unity instead of divisiveness and war.”

11 Days Calendar

THURSDAY

The 11 Days for Global Unity committee will host a kickoff breakfast from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 516 Kellogg Ave. Free.

Family Days at Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave., will feature Global Unity: All One World for the Family Craft Storytime at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. There will be a half-hour storytime followed by a craft activity. Free.

Ames mayor pro tem Riad Mahayni will preside over a dedication ceremony for the peace pole in the Ames City Council chambers, 515 Clark Ave., donated by the 11 Days for Global Unity Committee.

Two agencies offering substance abuse counseling and treatment in Story County, Community and Family Resources, and Youth and Shelter Services, will hold a celebration of recovery from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Community and Family Resources, 1619 S. High St. Refreshments, entertainment and speakers will be present. Free.

People of faiths throughout the community will gather for an Interfaith Peace Service at 7 p.m. at the Unity Church of Ames, 226 9th St. Represented will be the Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Native American and Unitarian Universalist faiths. Open to the public. Free.

Ames Public Library’s Non-violence Book Club will discuss The Politics of Nonviolent Action, by Gene Sharp, at 7 p.m. in the Founder Suite, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave. Free.

— information courtesy of ames365.com