Mother’s Day: Make Mothers Matter for Peace!

MMM Press Release for Mother’s Day

On 13 May 2018, many countries around the world celebrate mothers. They follow the United States, which in 1914 proclaimed the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day to honour mothers, as well as motherhood and the influence of mothers in society.

In fact, the idea of having a Mother’s Day actually emerged earlier, in the aftermath of the American Civil War. In 1872, Julia Ward Howe led a “Mother’s Day for Peace” anti-war observance in New York, which was accompanied by an “Appeal to womanhood throughout the world“.

On the occasion of Mother’s Day 2018, Make Mothers Matter (MMM) wishes to recall the roots of Mother’s Day and its relation to the promotion of Peace. MMM also wishes to reaffirm the power of mothers for building sustainable Peace at all levels: beginning in the family, but also at the community, national and international levels. And this is not limited to biological mothers: mothers also include stepmothers, adopted mothers, and all those who “mother” without delineated relationships…

“Mothers at the heart of change for a culture of peace” was also the motto of the International Conference #Mothers4Peace organized by MMM in collaboration with CARE International Maroc on 3-4 May 2018 in Casablanca, Morocco.

The main objective of the conference, which benefitted from the High Patronage of His Majesty The King Mohammed VI, was to show how mothers practically build peace and how they can better be supported to do so. About 200 leaders, experts, and practitioners in the field of women and peacebuilding exchanged the latest findings and good practices on the empowerment of women and mothers to foster a culture of peace.

“Mothers are part of the solution to build and sustain peace. We must work not only for them but also WITH them. We call on policymakers to recognize that mothers are a resource that is too often untapped, and that it is necessary to educate and support mothers to build a better world”, concluded Anne-Claire de Liedekerke, President of Make Mothers Matter.

On Mother’s Day, may we remember and honour their contributions; let’s commit to empowering mothers for peace!