3 Minutes World Silence

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The 3 Minutes World Silence event was initiated late in 1983 by Mary Cassini, during an escalating Cold War between the USA and the USSR. The first World Silence took place in Oakbank, South Australia at the eleventh hour on January 1, 1984.
Mary and her husband, Peter Stapleton, travelled round the world in 1986 to publicize the idea. It was supported in many countries. In the former Soviet Union it was accepted by the Soviet Peace Committee as a way for the USSR to join the West. In February, 1987, Mary was a delegate to USSR General-Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's first conference for glasnost and perestroika.
On December 30, 1989, the Russian newspaper "Pravda" published details
of the 3 Minutes World Silence on its front page.
A public exhibition with a large globe of the world to illustrate the event was held in Parliament House, Canberra, Australia, from December 30, 1989 to January 2, 1990. This was with the support of both Houses of Parliament. The globe shows the 36 time-zones of the earth highlighted in turn. Lights were installed by students of Birdwood High School, South Australia, in 1987. The globe has been exhibited in many public areas each January 1st, including in and around Jerusalem, December 1990 to January 1991.
A soundscape, Footsteps, composed by Ros Bandt in 1991, dedicated to 3 Minutes World Silence, was premiered on Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC)FM Stereo radio nationwide on January 1st, 1992.

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