Nathan Ngai

"At the Wong Avery Asia Pacific Peace Museum lies a white wall. On the wall is a quote in blue font: “Peace is not only a noble vision for humanity. Peace is a call to action.” - United Nations September 21, 2023… This photo was taken beside the galleries in the museum, during an excursion with the peace camp. I took this photo while my friends and I were exploring the galleries… This photo is significant as it not only highlights the significance of peace across an international context, but because it reveals that initiatives must be taken to create peace. This quote represents international collaborations and encourages steps for a brighter future."

Harmony

"This photo was taken in the Asia Pacific Peace Museum… I chose this photo because it shows what others perceive on what brings them peace and what they do to make peace possible and it’s interesting to read what everybody wrote. There are also responses in Chinese which I also thought was really cool. Yeah! I really like knowing what others think on different ideas or topics so it was fun to read all of it. Reading it also brought me a lot of peace."

Juilanne

"In this photo, there are multiple objects that are important, but what caught my eye first is the book. I was drawn to take this photo because reading is a daily activity for me, that I wanted to represent through photography. I chose this when I was reading. In that moment of reading, I noticed how at peace I felt. For me, reading is calm, and calm often means peace for me."

Claire G.

"In this photo, there are many bible phrases painted onto a wall in the [TCMC] youth room colored as red and blue… I chose this photo because of the bible phrases, since when I think of the bible and God, they bring my mind peace and quiet. Personally, God gives me peace when I think of Him + pray, so I decided to include them in the photos for me and others to seek advice, comfort, and wisdom in Him."

Michael

"We were at the Asia Pacific Peace Museum and after the first presentation I took this photo thinking that the quote looked really clean (nice)."

Claire G.

"I was at the APPM [Asia Pacific Peace Museum] at the time for an activity… The atmosphere was kind of tense as I recall the past experiences of soldiers and civilians during WWII. The affirmations and messages about justice and peace grabbed my attention as soon as I came across it… I chose this photo because I saw how many people came together and wanted to support the same cause and give their view and perspective on the situation. This photo relates to peace because I see so many written opinions of people uniting and saying their perspective, and that just makes me think of what if our world wasn’t as peaceful as it is now (of course our world isn’t the most peaceful)?"

Julianne

"This photo is almost fully taken up by a wall. All over this wall are lots of different words. Once examined, you can see that these aren’t ordinary words, but bible verses!... It drew my attention because I have been reading the bible chronologically this year. What made me choose this photo was all the different verses. I find reading bible verses one of the most impactful ways for me to grow closer to God. This immediately made me think of peace because God is peace."

Siqi You

"I chose this photo because I wanted to help people contribute to peace making if they couldn’t figure out what peace means to them. I guess you could say it relates to peace because many people come together in peace to find ways to make peace."

Toronto Peace Academy is an initiative of Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church.

Toronto Peace Academy is an initiative of