The Global Peace Flag consists of canvases displaying artwork and messages of peace from around the world, including from the U.S., Cuba, Nepal, India, Congo, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and more. At the intersection of fashion, environmental justice, and peace building, the Global Peace Flag transforms fashion waste — discarded muslin prototypes — into symbols of hope, unity, and resistance to conflict. This initiative has already seen success with its exhibit at the United Nations in New York, and now we’re taking it to The Ellipse in front of the White House during Memorial Day weekend.
This event will include a fashion show and exhibit displaying the Peace Flags from around the world, plus music and speeches from notable anti-war voices, including World BEYOND War’s own Executive Director David Swanson; fashion designer Runa Ray, founder of Fashioning for Social Environmental Justice; Marjan Naderi, former D.C. Youth Poet Laureate (2020); Eli S. McCarthy, Director of Programs at DC Peace Team; Dr. Steven Nabieu Rogers, Executive Director of the African Justice and Faith Network; and Notre Dame de Tous Les Peuples, a powerful choir ensemble that brings us songs of peace inspired by the African continent.
About the Organizers:
Fashioning for Social Environmental Justice is a public charity nonprofit dedicated to addressing critical global, environmental, and societal challenges. World BEYOND War is a global grassroots network of chapters and affiliates advocating for the abolition of war.
Endorsed by: Busboys and Poets.
Founder, Fashioning for Social Environmental Justice
Runa Ray is a Fashion designer and Environmentalist who uses Fashion as Activism to advocate for policy change. She has worked extensively with the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Action at the United Nations. She is the founder of the Global Peace Flag, an initiative endorsed by the United Nations. As a Fashion environmentalist, Ray writes regularly for Deccan herald newspaper in India, the (CFDA) Council of Fashion Designers of America, IOC- UNESCO and the World Bank. She is an educational member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is the author of Fashioning for social environmental justice.
Executive Director, African Justice and Faith Network
Dr. Steven Nabieu Rogers joined AFJN in May 2022 as the Executive Director. He has a background in public policy and urban planning with a special interest in globalization and governance in Africa. Dr. Rogers has served in the public and private sectors as an academic, researcher, and thought leader. He also has several years of experience in higher education in Sierra Leone, the United States, and South Africa. Prior to joining AFJN, he was an Old Mutual Emerging Markets Fellow and Lecturer at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, where he taught courses on Emerging Markets, International Trade, and Globalization. He was a Research Associate at the School of Urban Affairs at the University of Texas and a Corporate Compliance Officer at Children’s Aid and Family Services, Inc. in New Jersey. Dr. Rogers has published articles on globalization, urbanization, and housing in Africa and is also a reviewer of various academic journals including the Review of Radical Political Economy and Review of African Political Economy. He is very optimistic about Africa’s future and believes that Africa’s needs are best served by an Africa-led intellectualism that should emanate from the lived experiences of Africans. He has a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington, USA, and a Masters in Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. As a youth, he served in various leadership positions in the Catholic Church in Sierra Leone.
Notre Dame de Tous Les Peuples is a choir based at the St Martin Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland whose voices carry the spirit of resilience, unity, and hope. Rooted in a legacy of faith and activism, this powerful ensemble brings us songs of peace inspired by the African continent—songs that have long been used to heal, uplift, and mobilize communities in the face of injustice. Today, they join us at Threads of Peace to remind us that music is more than art—it is a movement. A movement that transcends language, breaks barriers, and calls us all to stand for peace. Let their harmonies guide us, their message inspire us, and their presence remind us that peace begins when we listen—with open hearts.
Executive Director, World BEYOND War
David Swanson is a Co-Founder and the Executive Director of World BEYOND War. David is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation and the 2024 Real Nobel Peace Prize by the Lay Down Your Arms Foundation.
Former D.C. Youth Poet Laureate (2020)
Marjan Naderi is an Afghan-American poet, performer, and educator based in Washington, D.C. As the former D.C. Youth Poet Laureate (2020), Naderi is a seven-time National Poetry Slam Master. Her work has been featured throughout American media including The Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, and more. In 2020, Marjan's writing was honored by The National YoungArts Foundation and was nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts Award. Her first chapbook, Bloodline, was released and sold out shortly after. Marjan's poetry is now featured in curricula including Fairfax County Public Schools, Bryant University, The University of Virginia, The University of Wisconsin Madison, and L.M.S. Voice. As an educator, Naderi has facilitated writing workshops and crafted curriculums across the nation. She is the founder of The Washington International Academy Library and now works to establish libraries across the U.S. as a student of The University of Virginia.
Director of Programs, DC Peace Team
Eli has led numerous training in nonviolent communication, unarmed civilian protection, and bystander intervention. He also helps facilitate the deployments of DCPT’s unarmed civilian protection units. He is a professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches in the Justice and Peace Studies Program. His most recent book is titled A Just Peace Ethic: Building Sustainable Peace and Breaking Cycles of Violence (2020). In 2012, Eli published Becoming Nonviolent Peacemakers: A Virtue Ethic for Catholic Social Teaching and U.S. Policy. He has been formed by multiple trips to Haiti, where he worked with people living in poverty, working with people experiencing homelessness in Boston and Washington, DC, monitoring the Palestinian Elections in 2006 with the Nonviolent Peaceforce, and leading strategic nonviolent resistance campaigns.
