On September 11, 2001, Mattie watched personal friends perish during terrorist attacks.

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“For Our World” is the poem he penned that evening, as his response to universal questions of “What now? What next?” He hoped that one day, these words would serve as an international passage for peace.

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Sadly, acts of random and planned violence continue to occur in countries all over the world.

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As the 10th anniversary of this tragic day approached, Mattie’s Foundation initiated a free, international peace campaign. The goal of the Campaign was, and is, that the words and message of Mattie’s For Our World poem will be spread around the world more and more each year.

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This message can be spread easily, through the powerful tools of the media and the internet, through individuals and families and schools and organizations downloading and sharing the message, and through the choices we each make in thought, word, and deed every day.

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Now, may the words of this international passage for peace serve as a catalyst for changing mottos of ‘revenge’ into credos of ‘rebuild.’ Together, let us rebuild the mosaic of humanity.

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Please join the effort — share this poem in a language

that touches the hearts of your family and neighbors.

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Reflect on the message.

Respond to the message.

Reach out with the message.

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Choose peace, for our world.

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You can be a part of this global peace effort! 

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PLEASE NOTE:

Once a translation is approved, it will be posted to the downloadable list below with your name and your peace- or communication-related website.

We post multiple translation versions in each language since the expression is poetry.

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Translations

• English (Original) 5×7

  • Afrikaans


  • Akan (Ghanaian)


  • Albanian

  • American Sign Language (ASL)

  • Arabic


  • Arabic (alternate)


  • Chinese


  • Chinese – Mandarin


  • Chinese – Shanghai


  • Croatian 

  • Croatian (alternate)


  • Danish


  • Dutch


  • Esperanto


  • Fijan – Bauan

  • French

  • French (alternate)

  • Ga (South African)


  • German


  • German (alternate)


  • Greek


  • Gujarati


  • Haitian Creole


  • Hebrew


  • Hebrew (alternate)


  • Hindi


  • Hindi (non-script)


  • Hungarian

  • Icelandic


  • Indonesian


  • Italian

  • Italian (alternate)


  • Japanese (script)


  • Japanese (phonetic)

  • Japanese (alternate)

  • Kiswahili

  • Korean


  • Kyrgyz


  • Luo


  • Malay


  • Malayalam


  • Maragoli


  • Mongolian


  • Norwegian


  • Norwegian (alternate) 


  • Pirate


  • Portuguese


  • Portuguese (alternate)


  • Russian

  • Russian (alternate)


  • Sinhalese

  • Spanish

  • Spanish (alternate)


  • Swahili


  • Swedish


  • Swedish (alternate)


  • Tagalog (Philippines)


  • Tagalog (Philippines alternate)


  • Tagalog (Philippines alternate A)


  • Tamil


  • Thai


  • Turkish


  • Vietnamese


  • Wolof


  • Yiddish


  • Zulu