Last summer, in launching a 100-day countdown to today's International Day of Peace, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement that included this thought: "The International Day of Peace, observed each year on 21 September, is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is a time to reflect on the horror and cost of war and the benefits of peacefully resolving our disputes. This year, I will use this important day to ask governments and citizens of the world to focus on the important issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation."

As people worldwide use this day to reflect, a Minneapolis freelance photographer is engaging Minnesotans in an interactive documentary project called "A Peace of My Mind."

"The goal is to create a collection of thoughts on peace from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and to use that collection of interviews to foster a larger public conversation on the subject," explains John Noltner, who began the project earlier this year.

He updates interviews and blog entries regularly, and invites Minnesotans to participate by submitting essays, poems or other thoughts on the subject, some of which he will include in the blog section.

You can view excerpts from some of Noltner's interviews for the project, along with audio and black-and-white photographs of his diverse interviewees, here.