Islanders marched in white for World Peace Day on Tuesday, and they had much reason to be proud.

Although media have focused on violence in Mexico recently, Cozumel is clearly in another, much more pacific world.

Not only does Cozumel fly the flag as an official "Island of Peace", but now it will also receive the prestigious "Pax Urbis" peace award and be promoted internationally.

And it is this spirit that led the Committee for 100 Cities for Peace to announce, earlier this month, that Cozumel will officially receive the Pax Urbis award on November 13, 2010.

Committee director, Pablo Marcet Bonel, made a special trip from Spain to bring the good news, praising islanders for their work to build and promote peace and tolerance.

The voyage took children from the Mayan homelands of Mexico to deliver a message of peace to their kindred in Greece, cradle of another of the world's great civilizations.

In turbulant times, simple messages such as these can be staggering in their strength.

A small island in the Mexican Caribbean really can help promote a better world, if people are willing to sit up and listen.

And this was the concept at the center of the speech made by Juan Carlos González Hernández, mayor of Cozumel, on Tuesday.

He understands perfectly why tourists sometimes ask if it is safe to visit Cozumel, given the way Mexico is portrayed in the media.

However, Mexico's troubles are over 1,000 miles away on the other side of the country and with its great peace achievements the question rings hollow on the island.