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Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace (GAMIP) 2013 Switzerland Summit
an article by Anne Creter
Video: U.S. Summit presentation
The Global Alliance for Ministries and
Infrastructures for Peace (GAMIP) held its 6th
biennial summit at the College Voltaire, Centre
International de Conferences de Geneve and the
Palais de Nations from 14-20 September - theme
Nesting Peace: Creating Infrastructures to Sustain
Diversity. GAMIP is a
worldwide community of civil society citizens,
organizations and government officials who
collaborate to establish "infrastructures for
peace” – including national ministries and
departments of peace, as well as other local and
regional infrastructures such as peace councils
and academies.
Group photo of 2013 conference participants
click on photo to enlarge
I was part of the U.S. delegation representing the
Peace
Alliance; my New Zealand based United Nations
NGO, Operation
Peace Through Unity and the Global Movement for
the Culture of Peace initiative at the UN.
An I4P is defined by the United Nations
Development Program’s (UNDP) as: A network of
interdependent systems, resources values and
skills held by government, civil society and
community institutions that promote dialogue and
consultation; prevent conflict and enable peaceful
mediation when violence occurs in a society. UNDP
adds that recurring conflicts at any level cannot
be addressed through a single peace process but
require long standing mechanisms for mediation and
dialogue. I came away understanding I4P to be any
institutional or organizational capacity or
mechanism that supports peace building; i.e., any
accepted, sustainable system, structure or process
within government or civil society that promotes
dialogue, mediation, right relationship etc., thus
transforming conflict or violence. Such
structures can be in the form of ministries or
departments of peace, as well as peace academies,
institutes, councils, commissions, committees and
centers.
Over 160 people -- young and old -- from many
countries gathered to collaborate on building
various types of infrastructures to support a
culture of peace. Countries represented were
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya,
Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Ghana, Pakistan, Rwanda,
Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Canada, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, Senegal, Nepal, Lesotho, Uganda, United
Kingdom, New Zealand, India, Brazil, Georgia,
South Africa, Columbia, Palestine, Afghanistan,
Mauritius, Italy, Germany, France, Romania and
Denmark.
Many effective I4Ps have recently emerged
globally. The Solomon Islands, Nepal, Costa Rica
and Papua New Guinea have actual governmental
peace ministries! Many others have a blossoming
assortment of viable local, regional and national
civil society structures, such as peace
institutes, commissions, committees and centers
(See CPNN
September 29.
I was excited to have facilitated an Open Space
discussion on seeking a United Nations I4P
resolution. A global citizen petition drive was
launched for it. You can participate in the on-
line petition soon to be circulated globally. For
details, keep checking www.gamip.org.
On the International Day of Peace, several GAMIP
leaders presented at the United Nations Human Rights
Council side event panel discussion on the “Role of
National Institutions in the Promotion of Education
for Peace and Peace as a Human Right.”
The summit was a bold experiment in many things –
youth organization, employing restorative circles,
modeling I4P and crowdsourcing to nest and hatch
peace. It renewed my belief that peace on earth will
indeed happen someday!
Click here for more information or
here for the U.S.
outcome report.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
What infrastructures for peace exist in your area?,
How can we develop the institutional framework for a culture of peace?,
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