ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- A 50-state torch relay passed through the Baldwin County on Thursday, May 3.

The international team is about one month into its four-month journey and ran through Baldwin County on Thursday from Pensacola, Fla., along U.S. Highway 90 from Seminole through Robertsdale en route to Mobile.

The World Harmony Run will travel the world to encourage goodwill at the local level. Relay runs occur in some 100 nations throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Since the inaugural Run in 1987, more than 5 million people have participated.  Endorsements have come from many world figures, including President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, as well as dozens of members of Congress, governors and mayors.

Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medalist, said, “By carrying the torch, you will be bridging cultural and social barriers, and all the boundaries that separate nation from nation. You will be the living proof of the ancient vision of having a beautiful and harmonious world.”

The World Harmony Run was inspired by the visionary Sri Chinmoy as a way to give citizens a dynamic way to express their own hopes and dreams for a more harmonious world.  An athlete, philosopher, artist, musician and poet, Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to advancing the ideals of world harmony and said, “If we have perseverance, then that is our first step towards world harmony.”

An estimated 50,000 children in over 1,000 cities and towns on the 10,000-mile U.S. route are expected to participate when World Harmony Runners visit schools and youth organizations. Runners will offer educational presentations that promote self-esteem and friendship.

The European leg of the relay began in Portugal on Feb. 23 launching a seven-month World Harmony Run through 45 European nations that will conclude Oct. 8 in Vienna, Austria. 

The U.S. portion will complete its journey mid-August in New York City.

For more information, visit the group’s website at www.worldharmony.org.