site.bta August 16, 1979: First International Children's Assembly "Banner of Peace" Opens in Sofia

On August 16, 1979, the first International Children's Assembly titled Banner of Peace opened in Sofia with the motto "Unity, Creativity, Beauty" and the basic principle: "Everyone can be an artist in the Peace Assembly". It was a major art festival for 

The Assembly lasted until 25 August 1979. It was organized on the initiative of the Chairperson of the Committee for Culture, Lyudmila Zhivkova, who was the daughter of Bulgaria's communist leader Todor Zhivkov. Its patron was UNESCO Director-General Amadou Makhtar M'Bow.

Zhivkova borrowed the name and the motto of the assembly from the school of thought established by Russian philosopher and artist Nicholas Roerich.

A total of 1,100 children from Bulgaria and 1,094 children from 76 other countries participated in the first edition.

The initiative was planned as a one-off event but its international success led to a decision to hold it once every three years.

The forum established a World Parliament for Children and Youth.

During the Assembly, the Banner of Peace monument, renamed The Bells in April 1990, was unveiled in the outskirts of Sofia, as a symbol of the children's movement. It remains standing there to date. 7 large bells weighing from 700 to 1,000 kg were mounted in the highest part of the monument to symbolize the seven continents of the planet. The composition was completed by 16 bells from various countries. More bells were added later in the years, including a memorial bell "NATO in the service of peace" in May 2002 and a bell presented by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Bulgaria in May 2002. On 12 June 2004, a Pantheon of the Children Victims of Terrorism was inaugurated in the monument.

On 30 August 1990, the Banner of Peace project was discontinued and its coordinating unit in Sofia was closed.