Peacekeeping – THE WHITE DOVE The White Dove is the international musically – humanitarian foundation with the foremost mission of spreading the idea of world peace. Unfortunately there is less and less peace in the world, while new war and peace threatening zones are emerging daily. The White Dove foundation has two ambassadors of peace. The first ambassador of peace symbolically became deceased Pope John Paul II, the second one is the Tibetan Buddhists leader, Dalai Lama. They both received a relief of a porcelain white dove that is also a logo of the foundation. Gianni Rijavec who created the White Dove invited me to join his project in order to spread the idea of peace to the world of fashion and beauty. Since peace means a lot to me I accepted his invitation. From the very beginning my main intention was to bring peace closer to as many people as possible. On May 3, 2005 I became member of the White Dove’s management board and now I accept the task of peace spreading as my honor and obligation. For Slovenia's Miss Universe contestant 2005, Dalila Dragojevič, I created a white dress that symbolized the white dove. By representing that dress at the Miss Universe beauty contest held in Thailand, the Slovenian beauty queen delivered the message of peace to the general public. As the White Dove’s representative I took part in the Live8 event at The Prešeren Square in Ljubljana on July 2, 2005 and conveyed the message of peace to the people gathered on the square. The message was about fighting poverty, to which that day was dedicated by the whole world. Where do I see the relation between beauty and peace? In my opinion, the relation could be illustrated by the mission of beauty queens who always emphasize the internal beauty besides the external one. I definitely take that mission seriously and I am convinced it is not only a cliché. Yet, what is the internal beauty? For my part, it is tolerance, accepting diversity and readiness for dialogue. Furthermore, it is human warmth originating in the internal peace. However, it is not easy to reach the state of internal peace. First people have to realize their mistakes, conflicts and childhood traumas, and overcome them, no matter how painful this might be. It is always easier to follow the path of hatred and intolerance, as it usually emerges by itself. Striving for peace is much more demanding mission. Of course I do not expect people to understand all this right away. Nevertheless, this very moment, as YOU are reading these words, my aim is already partially achieved. Thank you for reading my peace message! Peace and love! Iris Mulej - Founder of the White Dove: Gianni Rijavec- President of the White Dove: Iris Mulej- Management Board: Iris Mulej, Gianni Rijavec- Author of porcelain white dove: artist Ivan Kisovec- Web Site: www.toast2peace.com
