"Peace is not a line we cross.
It is a choice we make.”
As the world faces the highest number of armed conflicts since the end of WWII, the need to champion peace efforts is greater than ever. On its 80th anniversary, the United Nations appointed its first Global Advocate for Peace: Maryam Bukar Hassan, a Nigerian creative artist, poet, and social activist whose work elevates creative storytelling as a force for change in global peace.
To mark the International Day of Peace, the Department of Peace Operations produced the video “Peace Is A Verb,” transforming Maryam’s words into a message of hope and unity. First performed at New York’s SummerStage festival in July 2025, “Peace Is a Verb” was released to remind us that peace is not the responsibility of some, but a shared duty in which everyone has a role to play.
In a time of turbulence, uncertainty, and division, our objective was to connect audiences worldwide and catapult Maryam’s words into spaces where it matters most. After the video was released, Maryam was invited to perform the poem in front of world leaders during the opening ceremony of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“Peace Is A Verb” was to be published ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly, where world leaders would gather to deliver their remarks. We sensed the urgency of breaking the mold and delivering a powerful message of peace they can reflect on. We didn’t want to lecture, but to connect. Maryam Bukar Hassan’s words go beyond etiquette, politics, and tailored messaging. There is nothing soft about her voice - she wields language like thunder, bringing visibility to the human impact of conflict. For this project, we wanted to do things differently and allow her performance to speak for itself. Contrary to anything we have ever created before, the 3-minute video has no traditional messaging or additional UN-related imagery, as it focuses solely on Maryam and her delivery of the poem.
Our strategy was deeply rooted in collaboration. Having been witnesses to Maryam’s journey and designation, we embraced and cherished the reality of a young woman now having a microphone to a world “stage.” In visual terms, this inspired us to follow her during her performance at the New York Summerstage Festival. The match-cut from the studio to SummerStage is meant to represent her entrance into the world as the new Global Advocate for Peace.
Creating a long form piece featuring only one person the entire time brought about skepticism, but we believed in the power of a raw delivery. It was not about being visually stimulated, but about listening, truly listening.
The response was powerful and moving. “Peace Is A Verb” reached over 1M views across all our platforms, like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, and it was posted in collaboration with Maryam and the main United Nations account. On Instagram, the interactions surpassed 60K, making it our most liked video of all time. Despite the video’s length, the average watch time was double than our usual average. Thousands of comments flooded our channels repeating lines from the poem, proving that people indeed listened and connected with her words. It was a beautiful tapestry of messages for peace.
After the video was released, Maryam was invited to perform the poem during the opening ceremony of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Her overall visibility increased, spreading the United Nations message of peace even as a torchbearer for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The video was also shown during the Geneva Peace Week 2025 and during the inaugural United Nations Peace Circle.
During a time of heaviness, it seems that we were able to reach our audiences with authenticity, integrity, and a glimmer of hope. For us, this was the greatest success.
