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About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly. View all posts by CPNN Coordinator →

Indigenous, peasant and Afro-Colombian communities say YES to peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by the Abya Yala Agricultural Collective in CONPI.org (translated by CPNN)

“We believe that the defense of life and territory cannot be an isolated task of our indigenous communities, and thus we propose bonds of unity, solidarity, fraternity and commitment with whom we share the land as small farmers: the communities of African descent and others, not only those in the agricultural and rural sectors but also those in cities who also want to change the history of this country,” – National Dialogue Declaration of Indigenous Women for Peace

As noted by the historian Diana Uribe, we have come to a turning point in Colombia with the negotiated solution to the armed conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army and the National Government. We are also encouraged by the announcement last March of negotiations with the ELN National Liberation Army to advance the construction of a diverse nation that is no longer marked by the history of war.

This article aims to make visible the voice of the indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant ommunities. Its victims have been deeply affected by the unresolved armed conflict in the country, but nevertheless they are moving forward with proposals from their territories in the post-accord context, as stated in the following excerpt from the report of the Historical Commission of the conflict:

“The main players of today [in relation to the assertion of rights] are now urban dwellers, displaced by war, peasants and indigenous sectors, women, inmates of prisons, and ethnic and sexual minorities. Their demands include the desire for peace,

– the rejection of anti-democratic amendments to the Constitution and legislation,

– the denunciation of the tax reforms,

– the unveiling of the negative effects of NAFTA,

– land claims,

– opposition to programs that would eradicate illicit crops with aerial spraying with effects on environmental and living conditions,

– reform of the public hospital sector,

– changes in the educational system,

– the placement of demobilized and displaced persons,

– an end to actions that violate human rights by the armed forces “(page 67)

As a sign of support for the process of negotiation of Havana, the communities have presented their positions on complex issues such as the arrival of former combatants into their territories.

In Caldono last July the traditional authorities of the indigenous reserves of Pueblo Nuevo, San Lorenzo de Caldono, Pioyá from the Municipality of Caldono and Tumburao from the Municipality of Silvia published a letter offering their territories to install a ZVTN. (District Zone for Transition to Normalization):

“When we heard the news that Caldono is a ZVTN, it was no surprise because we have prepared for it, not so much for the large investments that we may receive as part of the implementation of the agreements, but rather to welcome our colleagues who with or without conviction joined the insurgency that brought so much disharmony and imbalance to different territories of the country. They will be welcomed, forgiven and asked to compensate for the damages with ideas that positively transform the social order. This will clarity the values of our community set out in our Law of Origins by returning to our community its members, both men and women, returning them to their spiritual home and harmonizing the relation between the community and Mother Earth.”

(Article continued in the right column)

(Click here for the original version of this article in Spanish or here for a translation into French.

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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For their part, the rural communities of the Peasant Reserve Areas that are expected to be protagonists in the postconflict agreements have offered themselves as managers of the implementation process of the agreements through a critical look at laws like the ZIDRES [Zones of Rural, Economic, and Social Interest] which they consider to be in conflict with the process.

According to the Political Declaration of the General Assembly of the National Association of Peasant Reserve Zones (ANZORC): “As the 66 processes of the Peasant Reserve Zones ANZORC, at a general meeting in the village of San Isidro de Pradera (Valle), we see a great opportunity in the eventual signing of a final agreement with the FARC and the implementation of peace agreements. (…) ANZORC, in its first General Assembly of 2016, decided

– to initiate a process of territorial anchoring of the peace accords,

– to advance the special circumscriptions of the peace accords (i.e. the 16 zones of transition),

– to promote intercultural territories,

– to fight against the expropriation of 6,000 peasant families living in the alleged “vacant FARC” regions of El Pato Balsillas, El Yari, the Losada-Guayabero and La Macarena,

– to oppose the law of ZIDRES,

– to establish rural guards in their territories,

– to establish a dialogue with the Ministry of the Environment and Autonomous Regional Corporations concerning the law on the 2nd forest reserve zone and regional protected areas,

– to formulate a proposal for social control over the extent of coca crops,

– to extend the process of popular assemblies throughout the country,

– and to strengthen our involvement in the National Constituent Assembly.”

In Natagaima from 12 to 14 August this year under the theme “Indigenous Women weaving their thoughts to defend the territory and build peace with social justice” more than 170 indigenous women from different villages, after a festive march in the municipality publicly declared their “Yes” to the plebiscite with the understanding that peace becomes possible with the end of the armed conflict, but it will not be easy:

“We believe that indigenous peoples must not be indifferent to the historical moment facing the country with the end of the armed conflict. The process in which we have been involved includes an ethnic approach to each component of the agreements. We must prepare to ratify our YES in the referendum as the main tool to build territories for peace with social justice. This means balance and harmony in our relationship with Mother Nature and the guarantee of conditions for a dignified life in our territories and our communities. ”

It has been declared by the parties at the negotiation table in Havana that the implementation of the agreements requires a new approach in order to overcome the historical and structural conditions of the armed conflict in Colombia. In this approach it is necessary to include the proposals of communities from the territories. This approach must see beyond the rigid legal principles of the Anglo-Saxon tradition in the constitution and the law, and take into consideration the diverse cosmologies of the peoples. It must fight against practices such as racism and extinction of indigenous communities.

The Interethnic Dialogue Peace Proposal brought to the table in Havana last April 6 by indigenous organizations and Afro-Colombianos reads as follows: “The black communities of African descent, the palenqueras, raizales and indigenous peoples conceive the territory as a collective good, in the function of the needs of its inhabitants. The land is a source of material, cultural and ecological life. It is not a commercial product based on private profit. The land has to be seen as a geographical and free space where communities can fully develop, as the physical place and symbolic source of sovereign welfare and independence, under the principles of autonomy, solidarity, growth, indigenous development, balance and sustainability ” (…)

“Indigenous peoples, Blacks, Afro-Colombians, palenqueros and raizales have been historic victims of exclusionary structures of racist and discriminatory State practices that have prevented us from enjoying all the rights and guarantees that citizens should have in a nation . In that regard, the social and armed conflict that the country has experienced for 60 years has particularly affected these communities in all aspects.”

Finally, we say that the challenge of building a culture of peace in Colombia will take several generations but at each step forward, there is more hope in our territories that we can finally emerge from the long night of 500 years, the colonial and republican legacy of war.

September 13, 2016FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin AmericaLatin AmericaCPNN Coordinator

USA: Standoff at Standing Rock: Even Attack Dogs Can’t Stop the Native American Resistance

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan from Democracy Now (reprinted under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works)

The Missouri River, the longest river in North America, has for thousands of years provided the water necessary for life to the region’s original inhabitants. To this day, millions of people rely on the Missouri for clean drinking water. Now, a petroleum pipeline, called the Dakota Access Pipeline, is being built, threatening the river. A movement has grown to block the pipeline, led by Native American tribes that have lived along the banks of the Missouri from time immemorial. Members of the Dakota and Lakota nations from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation established a camp at the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers, about 50 miles south of Bismarck, North Dakota. They declare themselves “protectors, not protesters.” Last Saturday, as they attempted to face down massive bulldozers on their ancient burial sites, the pipeline security guards attacked the mostly Native American protectors with dogs and pepper spray as they resisted the $3.8 billion pipeline’s construction, fighting for clean water, protection of sacred ground and an end to our fossil-fuel economy.

Video at Standing Rock

Standing Rock Sioux set up the first resistance encampment in April, calling it Sacred Stone. Now there are four camps with more than 1,000 people, mostly from Native American tribes in the U.S. and Canada. “Water is Life” is the mantra of this nonviolent struggle against the pipeline that is being built to carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois.

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day. Together with Laura Gottesdiener and John Hamilton of “Democracy Now!,” we spent the morning filming interviews. That afternoon, delegations walked down the road to plant their tribal flags in the path of the proposed pipeline. Many were shocked to see large bulldozers actively carving up the land on Labor Day weekend.

Hundreds of people, mostly Native Americans, lined the route, yelling for the destruction to stop. A group of women began shaking the ranch fencing, and without much effort it fell over. The land defenders began pouring through. Several young men from the camp arrived on horseback.

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Questions for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

(Article continued from left column)

The bulldozers retreated, but the security guards attempted to repel the land defenders, unleashing at least half a dozen vicious dogs, who bit both people and horses. One dog had blood dripping from its mouth and nose. Undeterred, the dog’s handler continued to push the dog into the crowd. The guards pepper-sprayed the protesters, punched and tackled them. Vicious dogs like mastiffs have been used to attack indigenous peoples in the Americas since the time of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish conquistadors who followed him. In the end, the violent Dakota Access guards were forced back.

This section of the pipeline path contained archeological sites, including Lakota/Dakota burial grounds. The tribe had supplied the locations of the sites in a court filing just the day before, seeking a temporary halt to construction to fully investigate them. With those locations in hand, the Dakota Access Pipeline crew literally plowed ahead. Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault told us on the “Democracy Now!” news hour: “They were using the dogs as a deadly weapon. … They knew something was going to happen when they leapfrogged over 15 miles of undisturbed land to destroy our sacred sites … they were prepared. They hired a company that had guard dogs, and then they came in, and then they waited. And it was —by the time we saw what was going on, it was too late. Everything was destroyed. They desecrated our ancestral gravesites. They just destroyed prayer sites.”

At the camp, we interviewed Winona LaDuke, an Ojibwe leader from the White Earth Nation in northern Minnesota. She recently led a campaign that succeeded in blocking another pipeline that threatened the White Earth’s territory. She commented on North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s support of suppression of the Standing Rock protests: “You are not George Wallace, and this is not Alabama. This is 2016, and you don’t get to treat Indians like you have for those last hundred years. We’re done.”

The battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline is being waged as a renewed assertion of indigenous rights and sovereignty, as a fight to protect clean water, but, most importantly, as part of the global struggle to combat climate change and break from dependence on fossil fuels. At the Sacred Stone, Red Warrior and other camps at the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers, the protectors are there to stay, and their numbers are growing daily.

September 11, 2016North America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTNorth AmericaCPNN Coordinator

Snowden: Best Film of the Year

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A review by David Swanson

Snowden is the most entertaining, informing, and important film you are likely to see this year.

It’s the true story of an awakening. It traces the path of Edward Snowden’s career in the U.S. military, the CIA, the NSA, and at various contractors thereof. It also traces the path of Edward Snowden’s agonizingly slow awakening to the possibility that the U.S. government might sometimes be wrong, corrupt, or criminal. And of course the film takes us through Snowden’s courageous and principled act of whistleblowing.

Trailer for film

We see in the film countless colleagues of Snowden’s who knew much of what he knew and did not blow the whistle. We see a few help him and others appreciate him. But they themselves do nothing. Snowden is one of the exceptions. Other exceptions who preceded him and show up in the film include William Binney, Ed Loomis, Kirk Wiebe, and Thomas Drake. Most people are not like these men. Most people obey illegal orders without ever making a peep.

And yet, what strikes me about Snowden and many other whistleblowers I’ve met or learned about, is how long it took them, and the fact that what brought them around was not an event they objected to but a change in their thinking. U.S. officials who’ve been part of dozens of wars and coups and outrages for decades will decide that the latest war is too much, and they’ll bail out, resign publicly, and become an activist. Why now? Why not then, or then, or then, or that other time?

These whistleblowers — and Snowden is no exception — are not passive or submissive early in their careers. They’re enthusiastic true believers. They want to spy and bomb and kill for the good of the world. When they find out that’s not what’s happening, they go public for the good of the world. There is that consistency to their actions. The question, then, is how smart, dedicated young people come to believe that militarism and secrecy and abusive power are noble pursuits.

Oliver Stone’s Ed Snowden begins as a “smart conservative.” But the only smart thing we see about him is his computer skills. We never hear him articulate some smart political point of view that happens to be “conservative.” His taste in books includes Ayn Rand, hardly an indication of intelligence. But on the computers, Snowden is a genius. And on that basis his career advances.

(review continued in right column)

Question(s) related to this article:

What are some good films and videos that promote a culture of peace?

(review continued from left column)

Snowden has doubts about the legality of warrantless spying, but believes his CIA instructor’s ludicrous defense. Later, Snowden has such concerns about CIA cruelty he witnesses that he resigns. Yet, at the same time, he believes that presidential candidate Barack Obama will undo the damage and set things right.

How does one explain such obtuseness in a genius? Obama’s statements making perfectly clear that the wars and outrages would roll on were publicly available. I found them with ordinary search engines, needing no assistance from the NSA.

Snowden resigned, but he didn’t leave. He started working for contractors. He came to learn that a program he’d created was being used to assist in lawless and reckless, not to mention murderous, drone murders. That wasn’t enough.

He came to learn that the U.S. government was lawlessly spying on the whole world and spying more on the United States than on Russia. (Why spying on Russia was OK we aren’t told.) But that, too, wasn’t enough.

He came to learn that the U.S. was spying on its allies and enemies alike, even inserting malware into allies’ infrastructure in order to be able to destroy things and kill people should some country cease to be an ally someday. That, too, was not enough.

Snowden went on believing that the United States was the greatest country on earth. He went on calling his work “counter cyber” and “counter spying” as if only non-Americans can do spying or cyber-warfare, while the United States just tries to gently counter such acts. In fact, Snowden risked his life, refraining from taking medication he needed, so that he could continue doing that work. He defended such recklessness as justified by the need to stop Chinese hackers from stealing billions of dollars from the U.S. government. Apart from the question of which Chinese hackers did that, what did Snowden imagine it was costing U.S. taxpayers to fund the military?

Snowden’s career rolled on. But Edward Snowden’s brilliant mind was catching up with reality and at some point overtook it. And then there was no question that he would do what needed to be done. Just as he designed computer programs nobody else could, and that nobody else even thought to try, now he designed a whistleblowing maneuver that would not be stopped as others had.

Consequently, we must be grateful that good and decent people sometimes start out believing Orwellian tales. Dull, cowardly, and servile people never blow whistles.

September 11, 2016EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North AmericaNorth AmericaCPNN Coordinator

UN-supported ‘historic’ training to monitor ceasefire between Government and FARC-EP starts in Colombia

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An article from the United Nations News Service

Following a recent agreement to end more than 50 years of conflict between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), a seven-day training session on monitoring and verifying their bilateral ceasefire has begun in the country’s western city of Popayan, with United Nations support. Instructors from the Government, FARC-EP and the UN Mission in Colombia are training 80 men and women who will form part of the tripartite verification and monitoring mechanism at national and regional levels, according to a news release from the UN Mission

Members of the FARC-EP take part in the traning with the Government of Colombia and the UN Mission. Photo: UN Mission in Colombia

“This first training session is an important step towards building a stable and lasting peace,” the UN Mission said. “Not only does it mark the beginning of the realization of the agreements reached in Havana but it also marks the full commitment of the parties with a robust and transparent monitoring and verification mechanism to give full guarantees to all Colombians.”

Sessions will cover the verification methodology, logistical aspects, security, gender issues and operational procedures for the transitional local zones and points for normalization, where the separation of forces and the laying down of arms is to take place. The sessions also include theoretical and practical aspects of the Final Agreement, especially related to the bilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and protocols covering the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism.

In June, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled to Havana, where he witnessed the signing of the agreement on the ceasefire and the laying down of arms. He noted that the “peace process validates the perseverance of all those around the world who work to end violent conflict not through the destruction of the adversary, but through the patient search for compromise.”

The UN Mission in Colombia’s international observers include representatives from eight countries from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC): Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay.

(Thank you to the Good News Agency for calling this story to our attention)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

September 9, 2016FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin AmericaLatin AmericaCPNN Coordinator

Forging a peaceful future: four years of UNICEF’s Learning for Peace Programme

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from UNICEF

UNICEF and partners are a step closer to building peace, Eran Nagan, of the Government of the Netherlands said at a high-level event on education and peacebuilding in New York.

Mr. Nagan, First Secretary of Economic Affairs, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, joined some 80 UN staff, researchers, civil society, private sector representatives and members of the public to celebrate the final event of the Learning for Peace programme on Thursday, 30 June at UNICEF House. The UNICEF programme, launched in 2012 with the support of the Government of the Netherlands, helped promote peace through education in 14 conflict-affected countries: Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, State of Palestine, Uganda, and Yemen.

Panelists (L-R) Patrick Fine, FHI 360 CEO; Angela Kearney UNICEF Pakistan Representative; Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Deputy Director of Emergency Programmes; Henk-Jan Brinkman UN Peacebuilding Support Office Chief of Policy Planning and Application.
Click on image to enlarge

“The teaching of tolerance, respect for the other, promoting social cohesion is a necessity of any society because it is by inserting these essential values in our youth that we forge peaceful societies for the future,” Mr. Nagan said in his key note address, praising the programme for its achievements over the last four and a half years. Learning for Peace worked with governments, education systems, and communities to design education interventions that addressed underlying causes and dynamics of conflict. The programme also included a significant research component to fill the gap in knowledge and evidence on social services for peacebuilding.

Research from UNICEF and FHI 360 found evidence that education inequities reinforce social divisions that lead to conflict – the likelihood of violent conflict doubles in countries with high education inequality between ethnic and religious groups. Conversely, conflict widens educational inequalities. Although less pronounced, the study also provides evidence that gender-based education inequality makes violent conflict more likely, and vice versa.

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Question for this article:

Peace education at the United Nations, how does it work?

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“I think it has direct implications for how we set priorities and what kinds of actions we take in humanitarian response, and it also has immediate implications for policies and programmes,” Patrick Fine, FHI 360 CEO, said of the research findings.

Mr. Fine, along with Angela Kearney, UNICEF Pakistan Representative; Yasmin Haque, Deputy Director, Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF; and Henk-Jan Brinkman, Chief of Policy, Planning and Application, UN Peacebuilding Support Office were part of a panel to share experiences, achievements and lessons learned of the Learning For Peace programme.

Ms. Kearney shared stories of innovation in education from Pakistan, where findings from the programme’s conflict analysis informed education sector plans in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. In South Sudan, where 70 per cent of children have never stepped inside a school, Ms. Haque said that Learning for Peace helped develop a new, inclusive education system and forged new partnerships amongst education stakeholders and development partner organizations with peacebuilding expertise.

Josephine Bourne, Associate Director of Education at UNICEF, moderated the event and stressed that the lessons-learned on conflict-sensitive and peacebuilding-oriented education programming that began through the Learning for Peace programme would continue in future projects.

“While the programme is finishing, the work does not. There’s a very strong commitment to conflict assessment and really understanding the situation of children and their access to resources and other inequalities.” Ms. Bourne said. The inequality piece is front and center, not just for education, but everything UNICEF is doing”.

At the event, UNICEF also discussed plans to employ conflict assessment, study gender-based violence, and have children participate in determining the issues that drive conflict and necessary interventions. FHI 360 is also leading an education equity research initiative in conjunction with UNICEF and other partners including USAID, Save the Children and World Vision.

For more information on the programme please visit: learningforpeace.unicef.org.

(Thank you to the Global Campaign for Peace Education for bringing this article to our attention.)

September 9, 2016EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global, United Nationsglobal, United NationsCPNN Coordinator

Hundreds of Thousands Join Saudi Women-Led Campaign to End Male Guardianship in the Kingdom

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

This article originally appeared on Global Voices on September 4 (reprinted here according to terms of Creative Commons)

As part of the efforts to end the draconian laws against women in the Gulf state, Saudi women launched a campaign demanding an end to male guardianship for basic practices such as work, property ownership and travel. Using the hashtag #TogetherToEndMaleGuardianship and its Arabic version #سعوديات_نطالب_باسقاط_الولاية (which translates to ‘Saudi women demand the end of guardianship’), hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide took part in this campaign.

Video:”Trapped with abuse”

The campaign was sponsored by Human Rights Watch and follows the release of its lengthy report entitled “Boxed In: Women and Saudi Arabia’s Male Guardianship System”. In it, the international human rights organization explains that:

“In Saudi Arabia, a woman’s life is controlled by a man from birth until death. Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian, normally a father or husband, but in some cases a brother or even a son, who has the power to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf. As dozens of Saudi women told Human Rights Watch, the male guardianship system is the most significant impediment to realizing women’s rights in the country, effectively rendering adult women legal minors who cannot make key decisions for themselves.”

The report included three short videos illustrating the effects of the system on women’s lives, as well as statements from Saudi women’s rights activists and citizens who find the law to be socially and economically crippling.

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

As one Saudi activist and former school principal, 44-year-old Hayat, told Human Rights Watch on December 7, 2015:

“The guardianship system also impacts women’s ability to seek work inside Saudi Arabia and to pursue opportunities abroad that might advance their careers. Specifically, women may not apply for a passport without male guardian approval and require permission to travel outside the country. Women also cannot study abroad on a government scholarship without guardian approval and, while not always enforced, officially require a male relative to accompany them throughout the course of their studies.

It can mess with your head and the way you look at yourself. How do you respect yourself or how [can] your family respect you, if he is your legal guardian?”

Human Rights Watch also explained that the religious reasons supposedly justifying the male guardianship system have been repeatedly challenged:

“Saudi Arabia’s imposition of the guardianship system is grounded in the most restrictive interpretation of an ambiguous Quranic verse—an interpretation challenged by dozens of Saudi women, including professors and Islamic feminists, who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Religious scholars also challenge the interpretation, including a former Saudi judge who told Human Rights Watch that the country’s imposition of guardianship is not required by Sharia and the former head of the religious police, also a respected religious scholar, who said Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving is not mandated by Islamic law in 2013.”

This is why, among many reasons, the guardianship system is being challenged — on Twitter and elsewhere — by Saudi women and their supporters. According to Vocativ, as of August 4, 2016, at least 170,000 tweets have been posted in both Arabic and English.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

September 9, 2016Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITYMideastCPNN Coordinator

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

Despite the fact that the climate accord negotiated by the Member States of the UN in Paris does not promise to solve the problem of sustainable development, there is growing progress in renewable energy which ultimately may solve much of the problem.

Here are the articles in CPNN since 2015 showing this progress. For discussion and articles prior to 2015, click here.

Readers are encouraged to add their comments below.

ARTICLES IN ENGLISH

February 15, 2021: With 10-Point Declaration, Global Coalition of Top Energy Experts Says: ‘100% Renewables Is Possible’

November 27, 2020: Iceland moved from oil to geothermal in only 12 years

November 1, 2020: South Australia Got 100% Of Its Electricity From Solar For 1 Hour

February 28, 2019: A slew of electric truck plans may deliver the goods for China’s EV ambitions

February 19, 2019: Solar Energy Provides Hope for Poor Neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires

January 4, 2019: Germany: Renewables overtake coal as main power source

November 20, 2018: Researchers Develop Artificial Photosynthesis System that Generates Both Hydrogen Fuel and Electricity

October 7, 2018: Indigenous Peoples Link Their Development to Clean Energies

September 3, 2018: Why India’s Solar Water-Drawing ATMs and Irrigation Pumping Systems Offer Replicable Strategies

August 16, 2018: How Corporations ‘Bypassed the Politics’ to Lead on Clean Energy in 2017

July 30, 2018: India strides towards clean energy leadership

May 21, 2018: Solar Leads Record Renewables Investment

January 17, 2018: ‘World’s First Solar Highway’ Opens in China for Testing

December 27, 2017: Top five solar energy inventions from Africa

September 20, 2017: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017

September 11, 2017: China’s Upcoming Transition to Electric Cars ‘Will Benefit the Whole Economy’

September 5, 2017: In India the energy revolution does not wait !

September 5, 2017: China eclipses Europe as 2020 solar power target is smashed

May 8, 2017: Germany Breaks Record: 85% of Energy Comes From Renewables Last Weekend

February 3, 2017: Coal and oil demand ‘could peak in 2020’

January 30, 2017: Latest Data Support Bullish Stance on Commercial Energy Storage

November 27, 2016: 47 of the world’s poorest countries are aiming to hit 100% renewable energy

October 28, 2016: Global renewables capacity overtakes coal for first time

October 21, 2016: Boosting Renewables in Cities is Vital to Achieve Climate and Development Goals

October 18, 2016: China financing renewable energy

October 17, 2016: Swiss ban new nuclear reactors

October 15, 2016: You’ll never believe how cheap new solar power is

October 15, 2016: Urban leadership in the US for renewable energy

October 4, 2016: Catholic institutions around the world divest from fossil fuel extraction

September 8, 2016: The story of the first Spanish renewable energy cooperative

April 19, 2016: Renewable Energy Investments: Major Milestones Reached, New World Record Set

February 17, 2016: France expects to have 1000 kilometers of solar routes within 5 years!

January 2, 2016: USA: Renewable Energy Soars in 2015

November 16, 2015: Global climate cash flows neared $400bn in 2014 – report

May 17, 2015: MITEI Releases Report on The Future of Solar Energy

May 14, 2015: Book Review: Seven Surprising Realities Behind The Great Transition to Renewable Energy

September 8, 2016d-sustainableCPNN Coordinator

The story of the first Spanish renewable energy cooperative

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by Ula Papajak on 350.org (reprinted in accordance with the “mission of building a global movement to solve the climate crisis”)

In 2010 Gijsbert Huijink and a group of friends launched a campaign to find 350 people to join the first renewable energy cooperative in Spain. Six years later Som Energia reached 27,000 members, 37,000 customers and is now generating enough renewable energy to meet the annual needs of 3,200 families!

Photo from Som Energia Cooperativa

Huijink explains how, despite the legislative barriers and the financial crisis, he and a group of friends managed to run a successful cooperative.

SOM Energia produces electricity from its own renewable energy sources (sun, wind, biogas, biomass) and is funded with voluntary financial contributions of its members. The cooperative is organized horizontally, with local autonomous groups in towns and cities who determine the future of the organization. It currently sells its electricity at cost price lower than the price offered at the conventional electricity market. The price of each kWh is half a cent cheaper than the market price.

How did it all start?

– When I moved to Spain with my wife in 2005, we bought an old farm – explains Huijink. – We were so surprised how difficult it was to get the electricity there. At first we were looking into installing solar panels and batteries – says Huijink – then we became interested in putting up a small wind turbine next to our house. But then we got to legislation, the economic and practical parts and it all started getting more complicated…after some time I realized that it would be much easier to invest with other people in a bigger wind turbine. I started to look for a cooperative in Spain and couldn’t find any existing one, so I decided to set one up. I shared the idea with friends and before I knew it, lots of friends were interested.

In December 2010 157 people joined together with the common aim to produce and consume their own renewable energy. In January 2011 they started to work on applying for all necessary permits and by October the service was launched, initially for just a few hundred clients.

Overcoming the odds

– Finally a first PV project of 100 kW on an industrial building in Lleida was selected – explains Huijink. The installation started in early 2012 and by April it was fully functional. Consequently 8 other projects were selected and realized, leading to a portfolio of 732 kWp solar and a 500 kW biogas plant. The total investment amounted to 3.5 million Euro. Around 1100 of our members participated. Collecting the money commenced in June 2012 and within 10 months we were fully funded. All these investments kept us pretty busy until the beginning of 2014. At that time we were less than 10 people in the office for all the tasks at hand. Then, the government decided that Spain had produced more than enough renewable projects and could not afford paying any more feed in tariffs (FIT), so no more projects were going to be accepted, leading to a full stop in new project development.

(Continued on right side of page)

Click here for a French version of this article or here for a Spanish version.

Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

(Article continued from left side of page)

Also, despite an unanimous parliamentary decision to quickly implement self-consumption legislation four years later, no practical solutions have been implemented. There is a small legal loophole so it is not impossible but the reality is that only a few hundred pioneers have put solar panels on their roof. The government tactics have been to delay coming up with anything practical and fair. So we are currently looking at legal proposal #3, with no net balance and a ´solidarity tax which makes you pay for all kWh you produce yourself, even the ones you use yourself instantaneously and so never enter the grid! So the solution that has created so much enthusiasm and citizen participation in other countries was firmly closed for our members.

With the two main mechanisms for increasing renewable production basically blocked, we started to look around for inspiration at other initiatives in Europe.

We were looking for a model that would allow us to:

– Set up new renewable energy projects (and not re-finance existing projects)

– Give a minimum return to our investors

– Not promise things we cannot deliver

– Make it easy for people to participate

– Create confidence for people to invest in projects with a life-time of 25 years (this in a Mediterranean country where 5 years is about as long term as things get)

– Allows everybody in Spain to participate, not just the people who have their own house and have a suitable roof for solar PV, but also people who rent an apartment with little practical possibilities to set up their own project

The project also started in the middle of the financial crisis though – he adds. – There was no access to banking financing of any sort whatsoever. Banks were simply closed. They were trying to manage existing business and reduce their losses and they weren’t interested in new business, certainly not a cooperative business without any financial background or any numbers behind it. However, because of those barriers we quickly realized that if anyone is going to make it work, it has to be us. We couldn’t rely on any support but therefore we became very focused and strategic.

We came up with our own model. With a mix of solar, wind and hydro projects around Spain we tried to simulate the typical demand curve of our members as well as possible. As there was no FITs, all projects had to compete in the ´market´ and even paid a 7% electricity production tax to the state. Only the most efficient projects guaranteed that the money invested would return, so we were looking at a solar project in the south of Spain with 1600 full-load hours, in very windy spots with over 2700 full-load hours and re-powering of hydro projects where the civil works were still in a good state and we ´only´ had to put in a new turbine.

Any of the 27,000 members we currently have can participate by making a special, 25-year loan to the cooperative at zero interest. Your investment is in the system and not in one specific technology. We all share the advantages and disadvantages of each project. For each 100 Euro participation, participants will get an estimated 170 – 200 kWh/year compensated on their electricity bill with Som Energia. Participants keep paying taxes, grid access fees, etc.

Simply get started!

– We do realize that our model isn’t easily replicable. There are many ways to do this successfully. But my advice to anyone who wants to start their own cooperative is simply get started! Find your own focus – whether it’s an energy efficiency project, local production, biomass or solar. Keep in mind that banks are paying historically low interest rates at the moment and that many people lost their trust in the banking system but they still wish to invest their savings in meaningful projects and get started!

(Thank you to Kiki Chauvin, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

September 8, 2016Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTEuropeCPNN Coordinator

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

Perhaps the most inspiring initiatives for a culture of peace in recent years has been the peace process in Colombia.

Here are the CPNN articles that have followed this process since the beginning of 2015 – with the English versions on the left and the Spanish versions (when available) on the right. For a list of articles prior to 2015, click here.

Readers are encouraged to add their comments by writing to coordinator(at)cpnn-world.org.

ARTICLES IN ENGLISH

PazRock, an initiative of the Ministry of Cultures for the culture of peace through music

Cúcuta Mayor’s Office Concludes Workshops on Historical Memory and Culture of Peace

Peace Education in Colombia

The functions of the Congressional Peace Commission are strengthened

The first meeting is held in Cali to weave a network of peace initiatives in the territories

A Working Class Victory on Colombia’s Horizon

Artists who were victims of the conflict unite their voices for peace in their regions

Medellín with the most peaceful days in the last 40 years

Cinema, historical memory and culture of peace

Feasibility Proposal for the Creation of a Ministry of Peace for Colombia

The Schools Embrace the Truth

With the “Tourism for a culture of peace” strategy, the Government of Change will invest $8.2 billion to boost tourism in 88 territories

Comments on the Project for a National Program on Culture of Peace in Colombia

Government-ELN agreements, a milestone this week in Colombia

Colombian Civic Leader Offers a Grassroots Strategy for Peace

FARC dissident group says to start peace talks with Colombian government in May

Secretaries of culture meet in Villavicencio to build a Culture of Peace

Government plans to provide 100,000 young peace managers with economic benefits

This is how the new Peace and Human Rights Observatory of Armenia will work

Nights of Peace planned for December in the neighborhoods of Cúcuta

In Caquetá social leaders, students and victims of the conflict graduate with a diploma course on transitional justice

Colombian government and ELN advocate for peace in Venezuela

Education for Peace dialogues in Cartagena

Peacebuilding in Viotá, a model that seeks to be replicated throughout the country

Medellin: The Week for Disarmament 2022 involved more than 1,300 participants

What is Gustavo Petro’s campaign proposal for ‘total peace’?

Final report of the Truth Commission: an oral and written legacy

The arduous path that Petro’s left must travel to reach power in Colombia

Forum in the Valle del Cauca to commemorate the five years of the signing of the Peace Agreement

UN chief sees firsthand the progress and challenges five years after Colombia’s historic peace deal

‘5th with 5th Crew’, rhymes and colors for peace in Norte de Santander

“Week for Peace 2021” Initiative for the consolidation of peace in Colombia

Bogota: Youth trained as facilitators of peace and reconciliation

Nonviolent Response to the Crisis in Colombia

Medellín advances in developing a culture of peace

Impulse Travel – Sustainable tourism committed to Peace

Cultural spaces for the construction of peace

Implementing the peace agreement in the Valle del Cauca

Cooperation and Chocolate: A Colombian Community’s Quest for Peace

Female victims and ex-combatants graduated as peace activists in Antioquia, Colombia

Support communities in Caquetá, Colombia to strengthen peace building processes

Five new digital media platforms for uncensored news from Colombia

‘Incubator of Ideas in Culture of Peace’

The anti-militarist movement of Colombia rejects the troops from the United States

University students demand implementation of peace agreement

Rigoberta Menchú asks Government to strengthen the peace agreement

Scars that build peace

Remarks of President Duque in his first appearance before the National Peace Council

Today the Truth Commission begins its mandate

Colombia’s rural radio stations are a key to peace

Schools for Peace deliver their first results

Where there once was war is now the Route of Peace

For Afro-Colombians, a Slow March Toward Peace

Interview with outgoing President Santos

The Culture of Peace Advances in Caldas

he International Youth Congress for Peace

Mapping Youth Involvement in Colombia’s Peace Process

Children from Cauca, Córdoba and Bogotá will participate in Cinema Solidario of the UNICEF School of Peace

25 public universities in Colombia are working for peace in the various regions

SEGIB Launches Laboratory of Innovation for Peace in Colombia

Three Educational Institutions Awarded Prize for their Construction of Peace

Unesco recognizes schools in Norte de Santander for their work towards peace

Challenge in Colombia: Peace displacing violence as inspiration for the arts

Peace Education Project in San Vicente Del Caguán, Colombia

Festival for Peace by ex guerrilleros and community in Manizales

Putumayo to host biennial meeting on education and culture of peace

The European Union gives voice to peace in Colombia with community radio

Colombia’s FARC disarmament confirmed by United Nations

Spike in Colombian violence underlines need for peacebuilding, prayer

The Government of Colombia and the ELN agree on international aid to support the peace process

Santos Welcomes Approval of Special Jurisdiction for Peace

The European Union, the Colombian Government and the civil society work together in “Community Radios for Peace and Coexistence”

Processes of pardon and reconciliation in the Magdalena Centro Department

Juntos por la Paz, youth collective dialogues about peace in the Department of Cesar

Creating a model of Territorial Peace in the Valle del Cauca

Antioquia, Colombia: Young people united by a Territorial Peace!

Congress of Colombia to discuss new peace pact

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos

Youth for Peace: Mass marches in 16 cities across the country

Indigenous, peasant and Afro-Colombian communities say YES to peace

UN-supported ‘historic’ training to monitor ceasefire between Government and FARC-EP starts in Colombia

The First International Encounter for Peace Studies

Colombia Peace Agreement : IPB statement

Historic Peace Accord for Colombia Is Signed in Havana

First Group of UN Peace Process Observers Arrive in Colombia

Colombia Minister of Education: The education sector is crucial for the consolidation of peace

War is over in Colombia

After the accords: “In Colombia now we must disarm our language”

Colombia ceasefire is a step forward for the culture of peace

Ceasefire between FARC and the government of Colombia is sealed in Cuba

No peace without Education for Peace

For the first time, a Peace Plan for Cali, Colombia

Colombia celebrates agreement to legally bind the peace accord

Building peace from Colombian universities

National Meeting on Education for Peace

The peace process in Colombia: A Chronology

“The peace process involves everyone”

Peace signatories bring their expertise to Colombia

#ConversemosEnPaz: In addition to the agreements, we must learn and unlearn for peace

Pact between government and FARC-EP raises hopes for peace in Colombia

VII National and II International Congress of REDUNIPAZ

Why radio is proving the best medium to promote Colombia’s peace process

UN: there is less violence in Colombia since the peace process began

City officials are preparing for post-conflict peace-building in Cundinamarca

Rock in the Park 2015 – Music for the 21st Century

Letter from Colombia

San Agustin, Colombia to host International Biennial of Education and Culture of Peace

The Labor Minister will provide full guarantees, facilitate and promote the Second National Assembly for Peace

Colombia: Teaching peace

Planning for a Peace Assembly in the Colombian Caribbean

FARC and the Government Will Create a Truth Commission

Pax Christi International Peace Award 2015: Women Collective for Reflection and Action (Colombia)

Sonia Ines Goéz Orrego on a speaking tour in the U.S. to share her experience building peace in Colombia

ARTICLES IN SPANISH

PazRock, la iniciativa del Ministerio de las Culturas que le apostó a la cultura de paz a través de la música

Alcaldía de Cúcuta Finaliza con Éxito los Talleres de Memoria Histórica y Cultura de Paz

– – –

Se fortalecen las funciones de la Comisión de Paz en el Congreso

En Cali se lleva a cabo el primer encuentro para tejer una red de iniciativas de paz de los territorios

– – –

Artistas víctimas del conflicto unieron sus voces para pedir paz en sus regiones

Medellín con los días más pacíficos de los últimos 40 años

Cine, memoria histórica y cultura de paz

Presentación de una propuesta de Ministerio de Paz

La Escuela Abraza la Verdad

Con la estrategia “Turismo para una cultura de paz”, Gobierno del Cambio invertirá $8.200 millones para impulsar el turismo en 88 territorios

Proyecto programa en cultura de paz

Acuerdos Gobierno-ELN, un hito esta semana en Colombia

– – –

– – –

Secretarios de cultura del país, reunidos en Villavicencio para construir ‘Cultura de Paz’

Gobierno plantea entregarle a 100.000 jóvenes gestores de paz beneficios económicos

Así funcionará el nuevo observatorio de Paz y Derechos Humanos de Armenia

Noches de paz: el plan de diciembre en los barrios de Cúcuta

En Caquetá líderes sociales, estudiantes y víctimas del conflicto se gradúan en diplomado sobre justicia transicional

Gobierno de Colombia y ELN reinician diálogos de paz en Venezuela

En Cartagena, se llevó a cabo el Encuentro de Educación para la Paz

El modelo de construcción de paz en Viotá que busca ser replicado en todo el país

Medellin: Con más de 1.300 participantes finalizó la Semana por el Desarme 2022

¿Cuál es la propuesta de ‘paz total’ de Gustavo Petro desde su campaña?

Informe final de la Comisión de la Verdad: un legado para el país

El arduo camino que deberá transitar la izquierda de Petro para llegar al poder

Conozca las memorias del foro de conmemoración de los cinco años de la firma del Acuerdo de Paz

Cinco años después de la firma del Acuerdo de Paz, Guterres constata de primera mano sus avances, pero también sus desafíos

‘5ta con 5ta Crew’, rimas y colores para la paz en Norte de Santander

“Semana por la Paz 2021” Iniciativa para la consolidación de la paz en Colombia

Bogotá: Jovenes seran facilitadores de paz y reconciliacion

– – –

Medellín avanza en el propósito de desarrollar una cultura de paz

Impulse Travel: Un turismo sostenible que apuesta por la Paz

Espacios culturales para la construcción de paz

“Hay que implementar el acuerdo de paz en el Valle”

– – –

Mujeres víctimas y excombatientes se graduaron como activistas de paz

Acciones Colectivas por la Noviolencia desde las comunidades, en el Caquetá, Colombia

– – –

‘Incubadora de Ideas en Cultura de Paz’

El movimiento antimilitarista de Colombia rechaza el ingreso de tropas estadunidenses

Universitarios piden rodear acuerdo de paz

Rigoberta Menchú pide al Gobierno que fortalezca el acuerdo de paz

Cicatrices que construyen paz

Presidente Duque en su primera comparecencia ante el Consejo Nacional de Paz

Hoy la Comisión de la Verdad inicia su mandato

– – –

Escuelas para la Paz entregó primeros resultados

Donde hubo guerra ahora se instauró la Ruta de la Paz

– – –

En Caldas se intensifica cultura de paz

– – –

Niños del Cauca, Córdoba y Bogotá participarán de Cine Solidario, de la Escuela de Paz de UNICEF

25 universidades públicas de Colombia trabajan desde las regiones por la Paz

La Segib Lanza el Laboratorio de Innovación por la Paz en Colombia

Tres Instituciones Educativas Fueron Premiadas por Construcción de Paz desde las Aulas

Unesco reconoció a colegios de Norte de Santander por su trabajo hacia la paz

Que la paz desplace a la violencia como inspiración de las artes

– – –

Carnaval por la Paz acercó a exguerrilleros y comunidad en Manizales

Putumayo albergará bienal de educación y cultura para la paz

La UE pone voz a la paz de Colombia con las radios comunitarias

– – –

Gobierno de Colombia y ELN acuerdan ayuda internacional para respaldar el proceso de paz

Santos celebra aprobación de Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz

Unión Europea, Gobierno Colombiano y sociedad civil juntos en el proyecto: “Radios Comunitarias para la Paz y la Convivencia”

Procesos de perdón y reconciliación en el departamento de Magdalena Centro

Juntos por la Paz, el colectivo juvenil que dialoga sobre paz en el Cesar

Crear un modelo de Paz Territorial en el Valle del Cauca, apuesta de Naciones Unidas

Antioquia: ¡Jóvenes unidos por una Paz Territorial!

Congreso debatirá nuevo pacto de paz en Colombia

– – –

Jóvenes por la paz: multitudinarias marchas en 16 ciudades del país

Comunidades indígenas, campesinas y afrocolombianas le dicen sí a la paz

Comienza capacitación del personal que verificará alto el
fuego

El I Encuentro Internacional de Estudios de Paz

– – –

Firman en La Habana histórico acuerdo de paz para Colombia

– – –

MinEducación: El sector de la educación debe ser decisivo para consolidar la paz y mejorar su calidad

– – –

¿Después del acuerdo qué?: “En Colombia nos tocará desarmar las palabras”

– – –

La paz entre FARC y gobierno de Colombia queda sellada en Cuba

No habrá paz, sin Educación para la Paz

Cali por primera vez estructura Plan de Paz

Celebran en Colombia acuerdo para blindar jurídicamente pactos de paz

– – –

Encuentro Nacional de Educación para la Paz

Proceso de paz en Colombia: una cronología

“El proceso de Paz es de todos”.

Firmantes de paz aportarán su experiencia en Colombia

#ConversemosEnPaz: Además de los acuerdos, aprender y desaprender para la paz

Pacto entre Gobierno y FARC-EP aviva esperanza sobre paz en Colombia

VII Congreso Nacional y II Internacional de REDUNIPAZ

La radio, instrumento para explicar la paz en zonas remotas de Colombia

ONU: hay menos violencia en Colombia a partir del proceso de paz

Autoridades municipales se preparan para el posconflicto en Cundinamarca

Rock al Parque 2015 – Una Tendencia del Siglo XXI

Carta de Colombia

San Agustín: escenario de la Bienal internacional de educación y cultura de paz

Ministerio del Trabajo acompañará, garantizará y facilitará Segunda Asamblea Nacional por la Paz

La cátedra de la paz

Inician construcción de Asamblea por la Paz en el caribe colombiano

FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano crearán Comisión de la Verdad

– – –

September 5, 2016d-informationCPNN Coordinator

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

A few years ago, the great peace theoretician and historian Johan Galtung wrote that he was very impressed with progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico:

“At the national level an overarching program to prevent violence has been designed and enacted. Despite the fact that it misses some important topics –such as peace journalism, peace museums, peace business and nonviolent communication- it is a bold proposal, grounded in a legitimate peace philosophy –one in which peace is constructed through the satisfaction of basic human needs- and is well equipped in scope and with enough budget and personnel to achieve transcending results by construction of peace infrastructures (i.e. mediation centers, academic degrees in peace for civil servants, etc.) and the buildup of a mediation-dialogue-conciliation culture that had been floating in the air for some years but is now becoming a very concrete way of life not only in scholarly circles but also in civil society and government.”

Since that time more than a score of CPNN articles give evidence that his optimism was not misplaced. Despite the enormous level of violence in Mexico, there are signs of progress.

Readers are encouraged to add their comments below by mailing them to coordinator@cpnn-world.org

ARTICLES IN ENGLISH

December 16, 2024: Jalisco SPPC launches training in Culture of Peace for the reconstruction of the social fabric

December 9, 2024: Drawing Contest of SNTE and CNDH promotes the Culture of Peace in Mexican schools

October 14, 2024: Libraries, key to building a peace-building citizenship

October 14, 2024: Is peace possible or is it just an illusion?

October 14, 2024: UABC advances in the culture of peace

May 25, 2024: UAA inaugurates the CONEICC 2024 Meeting “Communicating for a culture of peace”

January 29, 2024: Art for peace in Mexico City

January 12, 2024: Oaxaca: State Government Promotes Culture of Peace as a Public Policy

December 29, 2023: The First Conference for Peace is held at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Cuajimalpa

December 29, 2023: Universities ratify peacebuilding strategy