Quote by Gabriela Mistral: “Peace is not an absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind.”

Peace is not simply what happens when fighting stops — it is something actively built inside people and communities. Real peace requires choosing a certain way of thinking and being, not just the absence of violence.

Mistral received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945, the same year World War II ended. The world was confronting the devastation of total war and beginning to construct international institutions — including the United Nations — aimed at preventing future conflicts.

Chilean poet and diplomat, the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in 1945. Her poetry explored themes of love, loss, childhood, and maternal devotion, and she was a passionate advocate for education and children's rights across Latin America.