Talk:Peace Run

Don't delete - improve. Newly supplied references show subject is notable.
I object to deletion of the World Harmony Run article. Per adminstrative policy, I state my reasons below, and at this time remove the deletion template, substituting the stub template.

It is understandable that this article was proposed for deletion. Unfortunately, the original creator did not use a stub template, and did not list any resources which would help identify the subject matter as meeting Wikipedia's notability guidelines.

I have corrected both these issues. I therefore recommend that more time be given for the article to be developed. I understand the need to do so has been communicated to editors who I expect will now take a more active role. There are ample third-party resources available which would allow the article to be improved with added detail.

The World Harmony Run is an all-volunteer, non-profit event series which has been held on a regular basis for 25 years. It is now held annually in coordination with many schools, community groups, and organizations like UNESCO which support ideals of world peace.

Newspaper articles covering the Run often explore unique aspects of the character, lifestyle, and philosophy of the participants, as well as the Run's history. The World Harmony Run has a venerable history and belongs (whether formally or informally) to the category of world peace initiatives. (Of course, it does involve running). Thousands of people around the world have participated as runners, organizers, or supporters of the Run, including numerous VIP's. Over a dozen musicians and bands have recorded versions of the World Harmony Run Song, including Heinrich Schweizer - famed composer of the Historical Symphony.

The World Harmony Run is not obscure or hermetically sealed within a given community. It has a history of branching out and dialoguing with people from many communities. There are numerous articles about it in the world press. Editors evidently find the Run and its underlying concept worthy of coverage. A partial list referencing such articles is included as an endnote to this talk entry.

That newspaper editors see something of interest to the public in the World Harmony Run ushers the Wikipedia article past the threshold of notability. Even if commercial editors had not found the Run newsworthy, there would still be good reasons for keeping the article, consistent with Wikipedia's policy of including articles of interest to a wide range of subcultures.

The search for world peace, and the creation of initiatives which let people come together to make a statement about peace, is an aspect of the counterculture which often receives too little coverage from mainstream media. There is an international community of people who support such initiatives and who often participate in them. This community deserves to be represented in Wikipedia precisely because it is in danger of being overlooked in favor of culture which is merely entertaining, or merely political in a contentious way.

The World Harmony Run is notable to the thousands of people who participate in it annually, including the numerous schools and community organizations who come from different nations and backgrounds, but who grasp the World Harmony Torch and share in the hope of creating a more peaceful world through peaceful means.

Because Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with no printing costs, it's able to serve readers from an astonishing variety of communities and subcultures. The seemingly endless articles on porn stars, genre films, graphic novels, and obscure pieces of commercial software exist and persist because some people evidently see value in them. Because this material has been collected together in one virtual volume, there's hope for greater cultural dialogue between people who rarely meet and talk to each other in real life.

I would urge editors to apply the notability guidelines fairly and without bias. A particular editor might not find the World Harmony Run notable, but clearly there is some public and media interest, as well as a counterculture movement where the interest is very high indeed.

For these reasons, I object to deletion. I urge, rather, that the original creator or other editors work to improve the article by consulting third party sources which meet the relevant criteria and which would allow for the inclusion of greater detail, taking the article beyond stub status.

Fencingchamp (talk) 20:18, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

References

Note: These are older references which I happened to have handy. I've updated the links wherever possible. Since the World Harmony Run is an annual event series, Googling for articles within the past year will yield a fresh crop of articles in the world press.

Greene, Sandy. "Runners Span Globe Promoting Peace." Salisbury Post 26 Apr. 2005. Path: Salisbury Post Archives (http://archive.salisburypost.com/archive_index.php) ; article title under all words. Retrieved 8 Sept. 2006.

Niemz, Vasanti. "Peace Run: Peace Begins with Me" (http://www.european-vegetarian.org/evu/english/news/news983/peace.html). European Vegetarian Union News Mar. 1998. Retrieved 14 Jan. 2007.

Fox, Wanda. "Amidon Takes a Step for Peace" (http://www.swdc.org/news/news_archive/0699_news_inside.htm#AMIDON) The Southwester [Washington, DC] June 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2012.

Lavigne, Andrea. "Torch Sets Students' Hearts on Fire." Victoria News [British Columbia] 28 Apr. 2006: A2.

Leskanic, Heather. "World Harmony Runners Share Message in Clarion." The Derrick [Oil City, PA] 31 July 2006.  Retrieved 3 Aug. 2006 (link now defunct)

McClain, Rachel. "Running for World Harmony" http://web.archive.org/web/20050419221600/http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-04192005-478019.html. Bucks County Courier Times [Southeastern PA] 19 Apr. 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2012

"World Harmony Education" http://web.archive.org/web/20080401000000/http://www.worldharmonyrun.org/usa/schoolsandkids/whreducation.pdf World Harmony Run Int'l 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2012.