Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to be hosted by you tonight. When Mrs. Meyers asked me to talk to the League of Women Voters, I was honored for the opportunity, because I find the League to be one of the organizations that truly improve public awareness in our communities. Tonight, I have a difficult task of talking about a big dream of mine: a world of peace. I would ask each one of you to stop for a moment and think about your definition, your understanding of the holy word, peace. If you thought of an absence of hostilities between nations, you were right. If you thought of freedom from anxiety or other mental disturbances, you were also right. And if you thought of a state of tranquility or serenity, that was a good answer too. In fact, there is no wrong definition of peace. We all know what it means, and I hope we all feel how important its presence is.

Unfortunately, in my part of the world, peace is just a synonym for a period of time between two wars. And, not only there is it so. It is virtually impossible to estimate the number of wars going on in the world right now, but one thing is certain: there are way too many of them devastating the blue planet of ours. Perhaps even now, while we are speaking, a new war is about to begin somewhere in this uneasy world. We need to be aware that right at this moment, a number of children are dying because of the war-related reasons. Lives and homes are being destroyed, families torn apart, nations denied the right to exist. This world desperately needs help and a rapid recovery from both its old and new wounds.

The question is: what can WE do to prevent another violent conflict from occurring? What is the way of building a just, balanced, peaceful world? As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Peace, like charity, begins at home." That is the first step we all are obligated to make if we want the children of tomorrow to live in a brighter world than we do. Improve the awareness in your community. Help the people in need. Talk to the children and you will see the reason to build new bridges. Here, in the United States, you are gifted with a blessing of peace. But millions of people, living their lives just like you and me, are not so fortunate. They desperately need a helping hand, although they might not say so always. I deeply and honestly believe that by improving our own communities and then connecting and sharing in the global network, the evils of destruction that follow the human race through the centuries would eventually dry out and cease to exist.

I need to quote one of your most loved presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, "Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures." President Kennedy was right. There is no such thing as "instant peace." We often tend to eagerly expect changes just after we did efforts to improve a certain situation. But peace, more than anything else, needs time to establish, to start breathing after the oppression. Exactly that should be the main goal of the world community: establishing independent, self-sustainable peace. I, same as Cicero, prefer the most unfair peace to the most righteous war. Living both in the times of extreme danger and legacy of freedom, I experienced that even a vague peace brings hope in people’s hearts. That is seldom a case with any "promising" war. Wise words of Mohandas K. Gandhi are in favor of this idea too and he says, "I object to violence because when if appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

As a member of the Glocal Youth Parliament and the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, I am gifted with a matchless opportunity to make friends among youth from all over the world. As we in Rotary say, making peace – one exchange at a time. Exchange of experiences, exchange of ideas, exchange of cultural differences, interaction between seemingly different people – that is what makes this world a better, more promising place. Each one of us can be part of that glocal exchange, from our home, office, from schools, hospitals and libraries. This year I learned countless important life lessons, but the key one is, people understand each other, no matter what kind of obstacles are between them and no matter where they come from.

Let us wage peace if we are blessed with it, and be patient if we don’t. Let us share. Let us hold hands around the world and give hope to millions of hopeless.

Peace be with you.