1. Why are their rules for reports? Is this a kind of censorship?

The "rules of the game" were written when we first developed CPNN at UNESCO. We had several goals. First, to ensure that the site was appropriate for a United Nations project. This meant that reports should support and should not contradict the values expressed in the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO. Second, to make sure that reports are understandable by the average reader.

2. But isn't this authoritarian?

It is not meant to be authoritarian, but democratic. In fact, democracy is ruled by laws, while authoritarian governance and anarchy are not ruled by law. Democratic participation is one of the key values in the peacekeys.

3. I see the rules, but where is the participation?

It is one of the guiding principles of CPNN that those who participate by writing reports are then automatically invited to become moderators and take part in collective discussion and decision-making about CPNN. Also, your participation is invited for this training module. Please send your suggestions, including other questions to add to this list, to us at .

4. Does the moderator rewrite the report?

No. As specified in the Rights and Responsibilities of CPNN, the moderator must not rewrite an article. The moderator must let the reporter "maintain his/her own language and style, insisting on the need for clarity (CPNN articles should be understandable by schoolchildren) but allowing a diversity of personal styles (the more different personal styles on CPNN, the more it will be appealing to readers and comfortable for new reporters to send in their own article).

5. In the first rule of the game, it says that reports should not be attacks on governments. But isn't this contradictory? How can we achieve a culture of peace without criticizing governments?

Indeed, as you say, there is a contradiction here. You are correct that the nation-state is the perpetrator of the culture of war, and hence we must be able to criticize it. At the same time, however, the UN General Assembly wrote into the Declaration on a Culture of Peace (article 1b ) that culture of peace requires "non-intervention in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State." Hence, to remain true to the United Nations, CPNN reports must find ways to criticize the state in a way that is not confrontational. For example, a report can describe a movement or an event (for example a protest event) which is critical of state policy. In that way, it is not CPNN that criticizes the state, but it is the people about which we are reporting the news.

6. One of the rules is that reports must be brief. But what if a report is so complex that it cannot be reduced to 300-400 words?

If the report cannot be reduced 300-400 words, we can continue it into the discussion pages for that report. It is the same principle that is used in newspapers, where the most important part of the story is put on the front page, and then is continued inside the newspaper.

7. CPNN-WORLD is in English and all the reports are in English. Doesn't this contradict the principles of the United Nations where everything is made available in six languages?

This is an important question. For technical reasons we are beginning in English only. Hopefully, once we work out the procedures, we will then be able to add French and Spanish (perhaps by the end of 2007). Languages with other scripts such as Arabic will probably require separate websites, such as the Japanese website of CPNN.

8. How does CPNN moderating work exactly?