World Peace Gardens to Launch its Next Site in Algiers

As part of the site's designation, the garden is set to receive several additions and upgrades, including a central fountain, mosaic tiling, and plaques containing the words of renowned men and women of peace, including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. The garden will also include a selection of quotations from local peacemakers including President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who galvanized his countrymen into choosing peace, love, forgiveness, and inclusivity after a decade of violence that plunge the country into a dark conflict during the 1990s. The President's organization of a civil concord and national referendum, accompanied by speeches in which he beseeched Algerians of all backgrounds and beliefs to resolve their differences through peaceful, non-violent means, is widely viewed as critical to the stability and development that Algeria has witnessed in recent years.

"The vision of the Algerian people—'one people, one dream'—is truly reflected in this beautiful site," said Prince Frederick von Saxe-Lauenberg, founder of Children of the World, who was on hand for the planning discussions and site selection. "The garden will be a place where people can reflect, think, and then act in the interests of peace."

The Algiers Peace Garden will adhere to the principles of permaculture to encourage the natural abilities of the plants in the garden to nurture, renew, and propagate themselves. The garden will thus include perennial plants and trees, reduce digging to a minimum, minimize the need for irrigation, and be fully free from the use of chemicals or fertilizers. In this way, the species present in the garden will reflect the principles of human peace—different varieties living and growing together to protect one another from problems they would otherwise encounter.

Sophie Christopher-Bowes is working with Yakoub Kamel, Director General of l'EDIVAL, who oversees all of the public parks in the Algerian capital, to select the trees, plants, and flowers for the garden. Jeffrey Gale will serve as the architect overseeing the design of the fountain and other renovations in the garden.

"It's a beautiful green space and will make a wonderful addition to the World Peace Gardens Network," said Jeffrey Gale. "We are thrilled that the network's first expansion into Africa will be in Algiers."

The World Peace Gardens Network, a charitable non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom, was founded by Jeffrey Gale in 2000. To date, there are nearly 80 peace gardens in the network around the world, in nearly a dozen countries, including India, Uzbekistan, Portugal, Ireland, Cyprus, France, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The site in Algiers will be the first World Peace Garden in Africa or the Middle East.

For more information or additional photographs, please contact: worldpeacegardensnet@gmail.com

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