Honorary Ambassador
The Garden of Peace
for Children’s and Animal Rights
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Peace in Action
Peace is not an idea. It is a daily choice.
Every gesture, every word, every glance can be peace in action.
I, Laura
Transforming Loss into a Journey of Resilience
There is a moment in life when the horizon suddenly shifts, when the ground beneath your feet crumbles, and the future turns dark. For me, that moment was the day I lost my son. Not a simple loss, but an absence that echoed like a deafening silence—a void that swallowed every light. That immense, silent, absolute pain… seemed to extinguish every perspective, every meaning, leaving me in an endless darkness.
Yet in that darkness, I came to a crossroads. I had a choice before me: to let myself be consumed by the shadows, to allow the pain to define my existence — or to find a way to transform it, to search for a glimmer of light even in the abyss. I knew I could never erase the past, but perhaps I could use it as a seed to grow something new — something that could honor my son's memory and, at the same time, bring hope to those who, like me, had found themselves walking through the shadows..
Sometimes, the turning point comes when — and where — you least expect it. In 2019, while I was in Ethiopia, I received the most devastating news of my life: I had lost my son, Blaise. Overwhelmed by a pain that words cannot describe, sitting and waiting for a flight back to the United States, I found myself across from a man I had never seen before. His name was Assefa. We didn’t speak the same language. He didn’t know my story. And yet, he took my hand. And he didn’t let go for more than ten hours.
He said nothing. But in that silence, there was everything: presence, respect, pure humanity. A simple gesture, yet immense. An act of love that asked for nothing. It was in that moment that I understood: Empathy can save.. It can cross continents, cultures, and tragedies. It can bring light even to the darkest pain..
Since that day, I have chosen to transform my loss into a journey. A journey made of tangible acts — small, yet powerful. To listen. To welcome. To care. Today, as an Ambassador of the Garden of Peace, I believe that true revolution begins here: by truly seeing the other. By feeling their pain as if it were our own. By not turning away. By giving weight to what happens. By acting with heart. By being present. Because… Because when one person touches another, peace is born..
A Journey of Transformation
I wrote a book, “Twentyone Olive Trees: A Mother’s Walk Through the Grief of Suicide to Hope and Healing”, to share a journey of personal transformation. After the loss of my son Blaise, I searched for a way to give meaning to the pain and to find hope again. The book gathers letters and poems that narrate this path, along with symbolic stories that explore the themes of grief and acceptance. A meaningful element is the number 21, which appears both in the book’s title and in the age Blaise was when he left us. My deepest wish is to offer comfort to those who have experienced similar losses, showing that beauty can still emerge from even the most difficult circumstances. Olive trees — symbols of peace and rebirth — carry this message of hope.
Sowing Empathy, Cultivating Hope
OToday, I am an ambassador for The Garden of Peace, a role I feel deeply connected to. It’s not to tell the story of my personal pain, but because I truly believe that every small act of kindness can spark positive change in the world. It holds special meaning for me that The Garden of Peace is rooted in 21 varieties of olive trees — a number that resonates with the age of my son Blaise when he passed away, and with the title of my book. When I wrote the book, I had no idea this organization even existed. Sometimes I wonder if it was mere coincidence, or perhaps a kind of inspiration that brought this connection to life. I feel there are invisible threads that tie us together, and this project is my way of honoring my son's memory while sharing a message of hope with the world.
“We all know that where there is love, there is also life, but also know that where there is love, there cannot be any fear.”
— Twentyone Olive Trees
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Peace
A universal language for a shared longing
Peace is dreamed of. It is invoked.
And even if the sounds, the letters, the accents change…
its profound meaning remains the same.
Peace is a longing that unites us — beyond languages, beyond borders, beyond every difference.
In my journey as an ambassador, I have heard the word peace spoken in a thousand different ways.
Yet every time, in every corner of the world, I have recognized the same light in the eyes of those who spoke it.
Because peace speaks every language,
but it is always born from the same place: the human heart.
WHAT “PEACE IN ACTION” REALLY MEANS: Peace is not silence.
It is a kind gesture repeated every day, even when no one is watching.
Peace in Action is the moment when compassion takes shape.
It is an invitation to sow kindness, to act for the common good, to transform even pain into care.
For me, peace is not a distant dream — it is a daily presence, woven through listening, embraces, and attentiveness.
It is what happens when kindness becomes action.
When we choose to show up, to protect, to reach out a hand.
When peace is no longer a distant goal, but a way of living each day, everywhere.
At The Garden of Peace, we believe that peace is not an abstract idea, but a concrete choice.
It lives in the care for animals, in the embrace of a child, in the earth cultivated with respect.
In every action that places life, empathy, and love at the center.
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Peace Begins in the Details
A shared meal. A kind word. A gesture that asks for nothing in return. Every day, in every corner of the world, someone chooses peace.
We don’t need grand gestures to sow peace.
Every small act, every outstretched hand, every smile matters.
Peace is born in the simplicity of what we choose to do with love.
🌱Every seed is a gesture of peace
Planting a seed is much more than an agricultural act: it is a symbol of trust in the future.
It means believing that, with care and patience, something small can grow into life, nourishment, and beauty.
It is a silent yet powerful gesture, one that speaks of hope, balance, and respect for the Earth.
Every seed planted into the ground carries a message:
“I choose life. I choose peace.”
🧹Cleaning the world is respecting it
Every small gesture matters.
Picking up litter on a street, in a field, or on a beach is not just an ecological action — it is an act of respect for the environment and for the community.
It is a tangible way to care for the Earth, to protect it, and to make it more livable for everyone.
In every act of cleaning, there is a seed of awareness, a sign of peace.
👂Peace is listening to those who came before
Every generation has something to say, yet too often we forget the value of listening.
When a young person sits beside an elder, a dialogue is born that builds invisible bridges between the past and the future.
Listening to those who came before us is not just a gesture of respect — it is an act of peace.
It means honoring memory, learning from a life already lived, valuing experience, and slowing down to welcome wisdom.
In that moment, not only are stories passed down, but understanding, continuity, and humanity are nurtured.
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Small Gestures, Big Horizons
We don’t need grand gestures to sow peace.
Every small act, every outstretched hand, every smile matters.
From Ethiopia to Kenya, from Morocco to Sicily, acts of peace weave into stories of redemption, beauty, and humanity.
Every project is a concrete response to a need, a gentle touch offered where there was once only silence.
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Faces of Peace
Peace has many faces. The faces of children smiling, of animals rescued and cared for, of gardens lovingly cultivated. Here lives the soul of the project: in the simple things, in the hands that build instead of destroy.
🌿Children of Peace
Smiles That Speak of the Future
In every uncertain step, in every shy smile, lives the promise of a different tomorrow. Children are the silent voice of peace: they do not speak of borders, but of possibilities. In places where so much is missing, they still find ways to play, to learn, to hope. Walking alongside them means believing that the future is built today — with care, education, and love.
Because where a child grows up in peace, the whole world grows with them.
🐾Animals of Peace
Every Life Saved Is a Caress to the World
Caring for an animal is a quiet, yet profound act.
It is a way of telling the world: “Every life matters.”
In every wagging tail, in every gaze that brightens, there is gratitude, renewed trust, and peace.
Rescuing a dog, welcoming a wounded being, restoring dignity and affection — this is love in action.
It is a caress that expands, touching those who see, those who feel, and those who choose not to remain indifferent.
🌿Gardens of Peace
To Cultivate Is an Act of Faith in Tomorrow
Every seed planted tells a story of choice: the belief that the future can bloom.
A Garden of Peace is not just a physical place; it is a symbolic space where hands, soil, and dreams come together.
To cultivate is to care. It is to transform a space into a refuge, a patch of earth into a promise of beauty.
It is a gesture that has no hurry, one that teaches us to respect the rhythms of nature and to keep hoping.
There, where a tree grows, the possibility of a more just world grows as well.
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My Experiences Around the World
A journey through stories, encounters, and hope
What I want to tell...
What I want to share with you
My life has not been easy: I have known pain, abandonment, and loss. But from all of this, a journey was born. A journey made of travel with a purpose, of Love in Action. Through everything I have lived, I have learned that we are the ones who decide whether to remain trapped in pain or to transform it into something greater. And every time I choose peace, every time I act for those who have no voice, I remind myself — and the world — that it is possible to change everything. Being an Ambassador for The Garden of Peace means bearing witness to exactly this: that even from the deepest wounds, light can be born. Because it is through the deepest cracks that the light enters.
And I am here to let it in — and to spread it.
Laura Formentini
ICELAND - Spirit of Humanity forum - May 8–11, 2025
ICELAND
Spirit of Humanity Forum – May 8–11, 2025
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A Garden of Peace in Reykjavík: Planting the Impossible
During the 2025 Spirit of Humanity Forum in Reykjavík, a vision was born: to plant a Garden of Peace in Iceland, within a symbolic greenhouse that will host 21 varieties of olive trees, each representing a different culture and country.
The initiative reflects the heart of the Garden of Peace movement: starting from a desired future to sow regeneration, inner stillness, and coexistence.
Iceland, with its female leadership and its example of a compassionate society, becomes fertile ground for a project that dares to challenge the limits of what’s possible—and to root peace even in the most unlikely places.
The message: peace is a seed that can grow anywhere, if cultivated with intention.
Images
Video
USA - Denver, Colorado, November 13, 2022
DENVER
Colorado – November 13, 2022
My first participation in a TEDx event was a true honor — and an incredibly emotional experience — as I had the chance to meet the other speakers at TEDx Cherry Creek “Women,” centered around the theme “Reset.”
An exciting and deeply inspiring experience!
USA – Corte Madera, San Francisco, California, August 6, 2022
CORTE MADERA
San Francisco, California – August 6, 2022
My first book signing session for the launch of Twentyone Olive Trees was a success! I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to reach Marin County, where I was warmly welcomed at the Barnes & Noble in Corte Madera!
It was the first of many presentations for a book that has touched countless lives and found its way into hundreds of bookstores and libraries around the world — including the British Library in London!
USA – Taos, New Mexico, January 14, 2022
TAOS
New Mexico – January 14, 2022
In this enchanted bookstore, SOMOS: A Place for Words, I presented Twentyone Olive Trees, speaking about Love in Action: love that heals, acts, and transforms.
Among shelves filled with stories and open hearts, I shared my message of peace and hope.
A small seed planted in the desert… that continues to bloom.
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Press
These articles, all clickable, tell the story of my journey through pain, love, peace, and hope.
