THE INTERNATIONAL Day of Peace was celebrated around the world on September 21; and in Slovakia the whole Hviezdoslavovo Square in Bratislava welcomed it with a mass dance at the Better World for Everyone (Lepší svet pre všetkých) rally.
The event organised by the Lepší svet / Better World non-profit organisation featured professional as well as mentally challenged dancers, the TASR newswire informed. Mentally challenged clients of the Better World and a number of dance groups such as Street Dance Academy, El Moro-Renata Gitana, Tango Club Granada and dance schools Bralen and Elledance performed, dancing for world peace.
Aside from indulging in some jumping, jiving and shaking it, visitors and passers-by were also treated to an exhibit of posters with a peace theme drawn by mentally challenged people as part of art therapy. The Better World director Dušan Mikulec told TASR that, aside from the peace message, the goal of the event was also to draw attention to the fact that a healthy society builds a better world for people with mental deficiencies, who are often quite vulnerable and unaware of the conflicts ordinary people experience.
“If some military conflict flared up here, they wouldn’t know where to run, where to hide because they wouldn’t understand many things,” Mikulec said. “However, now they know that war is bad.”
