Ceremony of Remembrance Marks Spring Equinox
Published: 23 March 2026
Members of the University community gathered on 20 March for a Spring Equinox ceremony honouring those affected by conflict around the world.
On Friday 20 March, colleagues, students and friends came together at the Peace Bench for a Spring Equinox ceremony of remembrance, hosted by the UofG Chaplaincy, UNESCO RIELA and the grounds team.
Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language and Arts, offered the following reflection:
At 14.46 precisely, staff, students, friends gathered in the University Peace Garden, on the Peace Bench, by the Peace Tree, to make the moment when the dark and the light in our world are balanced. The same amount of day connects us; the same amount of night connects us.
We gathered to remember those we’d love to sit with on the bench, in the warm sunshine, or even in the rain, but who have died, been killed or are separated by immigration laws and conflict.
Attendees joined in singing a song of solidarity from Minnesota - “Hold on, my dear one, here comes the dawn” - before planting forget‑me‑nots as a living tribute, led by University horticulturalist Davie Jamieson.
The ceremony coincided with both Nowruz and Eid, offering additional resonance for many within the community. “Many in our community are personally and deeply affected by the wars raging across the world… a ceremony nonetheless sustains many in their leading into and for a peace founded on justice.”
Special thanks were offered to students Hsiao Wang, Rachel, Nerea and Alfie, and to staff Esa and Davie for organising the gathering.
First published: 23 March 2026
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