Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. at the school playground of the Bela krajina Elementary School in Semič.
The Primary School of the Bela krajina Detachment Semič is the first school in the Republic of Slovenia to join the international project Peace Field. The project is implemented worldwide by the international organization Children’s Football Alliance. Thus, our school symbolically joined the network of peace playgrounds around the world, linked to the historical tradition of the European Peace Heritage.
The idea of the Peace Field project stems from one of the most moving and symbolically powerful events in European history – the Christmas truce of 1914, which took place during the First World War.
In the area of Flanders in Belgium, British and German soldiers faced each other in a bloody and exhausting conflict in trenches, often only a few dozen meters apart. Despite the war and hatred that marked this time, surprising moments of humanity took place on Christmas Eve. Christmas carols could be heard from the trenches, the soldiers waved to each other, and soon they bravely stepped out of their shelters and met in a space between the trenches called No Man’s Land.
There, they exchanged greetings, small gifts such as chocolate, cigarettes, and food, and talked like people—not as enemies. In these brief but extremely meaningful moments, the differences were blurred, and a shared humanity came to the fore.
The most recognizable and symbolic part of this truce was an impromptu football match played by soldiers in no man’s land. The ball was taken from British stocks, and the goals were marked with knapsacks and caps. The match had no rules, no judges or no winners in the usual sense of the word, but it carried a remarkable message – it showed that even in the midst of war, soldiers were above all people who wanted peace, friendship and a normal life.
Although the Christmas truce did not happen everywhere and was short-lived, football became its enduring symbol. He became a symbol of the moment when the game overruled weapons for a moment and when humanity conquered hatred.
The Peace Field Project brings this historic message into modern times. By setting up and symbolically naming playgrounds of peace around the world, it aims to send a message to children and young people that conflicts can be resolved through dialogue, cooperation and respect – and that sport, especially football, has a special unifying power in this regard.
The official inclusion in the project will be marked with an international event, which will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. at the school playground of the Bela krajina Elementary School in Semič. As part of the event, football matches will be held between kindergarten and school teams from the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Italy. The event would have a distinctly educational and connecting nature. It will combine education, historical memory and international cooperation.
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