Peace Parade UK

John Farrington (founder and project co-organiser) travelled to Kosovo in 2003 to attempt to build bridges between the Ethnic Serbian and Albanian children. As part of a project to bridge the divide between ethnic Albanian and Serb children he was successful in constructing a giant peace dove and flew it on a bridge that symbolically and physically separates these two communities. This project was inspired by Dame Jane Goodall UN Messenger of Peace, and the Jane Goodall Institute's global Roots & Shoots project. Click here for further news on John's work with the Jane Goodall Institute

In December 2004, John Farrington travelled to Khao Lak in Thailand to assist in the immediate aftermath of the devastating tsunami. His experiences and film footage were documented by the BBC’s Inside Out television programme. This documentary was subsequently nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.

The Rochdale Parade for Peace project began in Feb 2006 after a meeting with filmmakers Mark Baron and Tariq Quamar of Sleepwalker Films. It was decided that Sleepwalker Films would film the process of our attempts to establish the first ever official and public observation of U.N. Peace Day in the UK.

In February 2007, Rochdale Parade for Peace was renamed Peace Parade UK to reflect the growing results of their efforts. In the summer of 2007, Sleepwalker Films was joined by editor Chris Matthews to complete 'The UN Chitty and Me' for the films' premiere screening.

In January 2008 Peace Parade UK was constituted as a voluntary organisation, and new members came on board to drive through their aims and objectives -

Steven Cooke JP - Treasurer and co-organiser of Peace Parade UK.

Andrew Kay - Secretary and co-organiser for Peace Parade UK, and Area Manager of Rochdale & District Citizens Advice Bureau.

Nick Wigmore - Chair and co-organiser of Peace Parade UK, and local school teacher.