All posts by CPNN Coordinator

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.

Successful start of the Latin American March for Nonviolence, Multiethnic and Pluricultural

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from Pressenza

The Latin American March for Nonviolence, Multiethnic and Pluricultural, began on 15 September 2021 with a successful start and a profusion of activities.


facebook video

Activists from a multitude of Latin American countries have done their bit to bring about the inauguration of the Latin American March for Nonviolence. It symbolically combines the virtual, using pre-recorded videos, and the direct connection to different parts of Latin America and even to Madrid.

The central inauguration event took place at the UNED in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, organised by the UNED and World Without Wars and Without Violence.

First, the exhibition of photographs of the Marches for Peace and Nonviolence in Latin America was inaugurated.

The opening ceremony of the March consisted of the viewing of videos from various parts of Latin America, the commemoration of the Bicentenary of Central America and the launching of a Call for Peace and Nonviolence in the Region.

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Click here for this article in French or click here for the article in Spanish).

Question related to this article:
 
How effective are mass protest marches?

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The video of the zoom broadcast of the Inauguration of the Latin American March can be seen on facebook video.

This was the official start with a symbolic act of the virtual and physical March that will travel through Latin America until the 2nd of October.

Throughout the same day, different activities took place in other Latin American countries as a starting point of the Latin American March for Nonviolence.

Some of the activities we took as an example were:

The Forum “Culture of Peace, Road to Reconciliation” which took place in Lima, Peru, at the Colegio María de la Providencia-Breña at 6:30 p.m. Lima time. You can access the video of the forum on facebook here: Foro “Cultura de Paz, Camino hacia la reconciliación”.

The opening ceremony and launch of the March and the unveiling of the sculpture Flor de Paz at the Universidad Distrital de Bogotá Francisco José de Caldas at 10:30 a.m. Bogotá time.

In Bogota, stencil painting has also been carried out in different places to encourage participation.
And, in the Teusaquillo district of Bogotá, the inauguration of the Latin American March was visualised as a group projection of the inauguration of the Latin American March.
From the Book Fair at the ORIGAMI exhibition stand in La Paz, Bolivia, they showed their support for the Latin American March.

In Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, as a greeting to the beginning of the Latin American March, they made a mural about the Latin American March.

We thank the marchers, promoters and supporters for the attention and effort they put into their work and we wish them days of great joy in the meaningful encounters with those who have already awakened and will continue to awaken to this warm spirit of Nonviolence that runs through Latin America.

(Editor’s note: We have not found a summary of the activities of the march as of its conclusion on October 2, the International Day of Nonviolence. However, the website of the march provides brief articles from Argentina, Colombia, Brasil, Surinam, Costa Rica, México, Ecuador, and Chile.)

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Chad: AJPNV training for democracy and human rights

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Alwihda Info (translation by CPNN)

As part of its project to promote democracy and human rights in Chad, the youth association for peace and non-violence (AJPNV) is organizing a training workshop from October 1 to 2, 2021 for leaders of civil society organizations and the media.


The workshop opened on Friday, October 1, 2021 at the national headquarters of the association in the Amtoukougne district. The AJPNV, created in 2000, is a secular, apolitical and humanitarian non-profit Chadian civil society organization. It is an accredited member of IRC (International Rehabilitation for Council of Victims of Torture) based in Copenhagen) and a member of IFHRO (International Federation of Health and Human Right Organization) based in Geneva.

AJPNV aims to promote and protect human rights and provide free medical, psychosocial and legal assistance to victims of human rights violence, refugees, and internally displaced persons, prisoners, women victims of sexual violence. It promotes socio-economic reintegration through information, communication and education of refugees; the promotion of the culture of peace and democracy in Chad; promotion of reproductive health; health promotion linked to human rights; strengthen women’s capacities to fight poverty, unhealthy traditional practices and HIV.

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(Click here for the original article in French)

Questions for this article:

How can we promote a human rights, peace based education?

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

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Officially launching the workshop, AJPNV President Nodjigoto Charbonnel asserts that civil society organizations and the media are a pillar in the national system for the promotion and protection of human rights. Their main responsibilities are, on the one hand, to promote human rights through the dissemination of a national culture of human rights in which the values ​​of tolerance, equality and mutual respect flourish, in particular. through human rights education and on the other hand to protect human rights, by identifying or investigating cases of human rights violations.

To carry out their mission of promoting and protecting human rights in their country, Nodjigoto Charbonnel maintains that civil society organizations and the media need to be strengthened and supported. And to add that, this strengthening project working in the field of human rights responds to the need for strengthening and broadening the field of action of associations.

Nodjigoto Charbonnel says human rights movements, democracy organizations and development donors have a common goal but have not always seen each other as allies. It is quite possible that the three groups have found common ground around the notion of a rights-based approach to development. He goes on to insist that good democratic governance must inevitably focus on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Without this protection, he says, there can be no real democracy.

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

South Sudan : Community leaders in Unity state pledge to promote a culture of peace

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from United Nations Mission in South Sudan

Some 60 participants from local administration, including women’s representatives, from Guit and Rubkona counties in Unity state attended an UNMISS forum on enhancing peace and stability.


Photo by Jacob Ruai/UNMISS

“We must stop the perennial cycle of revenge killings if we are to live in peace and prosper,” said Jany Nyang, a traditional leader in Budang payam [administrative division] located within Rubkona county in Unity state.

“Frequent cattle raids lead to outbreaks of conflict and this, in turn, destroys the fragile fabric of people’s lives. Peace doesn’t just happen; we have to all shoulder our individual responsibility and learn to coexist if we want our children to have a bright future,” he continued.

Mr. Nyang was speaking at a three-day forum hosted by the Civil Affairs Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which brought together local administrators as well as traditional and community leaders from two counties, Guit and Rubkona, to find localized solutions to issues such as cattle rustling, intercommunal conflict and increasing social cohesion.

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Question for this article:

Can peace be achieved in South Sudan?

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

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More than 60 participants, including women, participated in these discussions, which also included the important topic of cooperation among politicians from different parties across the state.

For Mary Nyakun Diew, a women’s representative, inclusion of women and youth in decision-making is key to establishing a sustained peace. “The participation of women in peacebuilding is of utmost importance. Women constitute 50 per cent of any society and this country’s leadership must make all efforts to include us in peace activities,” she stated.

Another participant, Nyakun Nyadiew explained that real peace cannot be achieved when every civilian is holding a gun. “If we want to live in a secure and free society, the government needs to carry out disarmament across the country. The proliferation of arms among civilians is one of the root causes of insecurity in our community,” he averred passionately.

For his part, Matthew Gatmai, Executive Director, Bentiu Town Council, advised communities to put their differences aside. “We cannot have a sense of peace if we don’t invest in it ourselves and our investment should take the form of tolerance. We need to forgive past hurts and look towards the future.”

According to Paul Adejoh, Civil Affairs Officer, UNMISS, discussions like this enable local-level authorities and communities to understand and own ongoing peace processes in the world’s youngest nation.

“As Civil Affairs Officers, we constantly engage with community leaders and members across South Sudan and we have come to realize that most conflict stems from a lack of investment in building peace from the ground up,” said Mr. Adejoh. “What we try and do is bring people together so that they can have free and frank discussions and realise that all citizens have a role to play in establishing durable peace. Every opinion counts, every individual matters.”

Africa, DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Mexico: Saltillo promotes the culture of peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from El Siglo de Torreon (translation by CPNN)

The present administration headed by Manolo Jiménez, through the DIF system has replicated the theme of the culture of peace throughout the city, achieving a positive focus so that, with the daily actions of citizens, they reflect a peaceful way of life, and they reject the cycles of violence and negativity.

Taking into account the above, we are working on the Mano Cadena program whose main objective was to create, implement and disseminate preventive strategies for conflict resolution that promote a culture of peace.

In this way, collaboration agreements were signed with the Judicial Branch, the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of Education of Coahuila for the creation and implementation of school and Municipal Mediation Centers in the Community Centers.

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(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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With the support and advice of Facilitators belonging to the Judicial Branch, the Attorney General’s Office and the DIF Saltillo, more than 138 information and awareness talks have been given on the subject of alternative justice, 30 workshops were held on Peace Circles, activities of pacification as 70 peace lotteries, and 160 “Peace Craftsmen” recognitions were awarded to male and female teachers.

Three university forums on Alternative Justice were held with 187 participants, four Peace Congresses with more than two thousand participants and a thousand School and Community Mediation Manuals were created, edited and printed in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office, the State Judiciary de Coahuila, the Ministry of Education, Empresa Constructora de Paz, AC, and Grupo Educativo Inglés de Saltillo SC

In addition, more than 50 training courses-workshops in community, school and alternative justice mediation have been given to more than 1,800 participants, community representatives, teachers, and 88 of both have been certified as mediators and mediators before the Judicial Branch of the State of Coahuila.

In the present administration, three School Mediation Centers were opened in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Community Mediation Centers located in Community Centers, in collaboration with the Judicial Power, within which the Public Defenders provide their services to the community, fruit of the collaboration agreement made with the State Institute of Public Defender, within the framework of the “Convenio Mano-Cadena”.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: UdeC holds international discussion on the culture of peace and human rights

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from El Comentario (translation by CPNN)

This weekend an international discussion was held on “Freedoms, culture of peace and human rights in education”, organized by the High School 32 of the University of Colima, located in Suchitlán. The aim was to have an interactive meeting space where activists and social leaders from Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala could share their experiences and proposals with students from the school.


Opening the event, Rector Christian Jorge Torres Ortiz Zermeño highlighted that this type of initiative as “an example of the importance of educational institutions in the implementation and promotion of the culture of peace”; In this sense, he added, the UdeC itself has promoted different actions, such as the inclusion of the subject in study plans, a humanistic educational model aimed at comprehensive training, as well as efforts to offer quality education.

However, he pointed out, the high interaction that occurs in university spaces, as well as the diversity and dynamics of the student population, “require permanent and coordinated activities to achieve the long-awaited culture of peace.”

This, he stressed, “is not an simple task; Therefore, together with participation in national programs such as ANUIES and the design of institutional strategies for the promotion of values ​​that privilege respect, freedom and justice, it is essential to learn about other experiences and to reflect and discuss aspects that allow us generate new projects aimed at guaranteeing peace, human rights, inclusion and substantive equality.

Finally, he highlighted that universities are called to be generators of these spaces. In this sense, he thanked the speakers for their willingness to contribute to enriching the participants’ knowledge; “I wish the organizers and speakers success and a profitable learning for the university students, which we will surely see materialized in actions in favor of tolerance and the eradication of violence.”

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How do we promote a human rights, peace based education?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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The president of University Volunteering, Blanca Liliana Díaz Vázquez, said that talking about a culture of peace “means placing special emphasis on values, principles, attitudes and positive behaviors that reflect respect for the dignity of all and all” , since this concept, she emphasized, “puts human rights at the center, the rejection of violence in all its forms and modalities, promotes substantive equality and inclusion, and incorporates principles such as freedom, justice, solidarity and tolerance ”.

She added that “peace allows understanding between peoples and groups of people.” For this reason, she pointed out, it is of great importance to speak and reflect on the culture of peace in university spaces, “since we are convinced that educational institutions are the propitious place for the analysis and promotion of projects aimed at promoting changes in the way of relate ”.

In this sense, she reported that within Volunteering, and hand in hand with the University Family Development Center (CEDEFU), “we work to foster and promote the culture of peace as an instrument that contributes to the education of those who are trained in our highest house of studies, through intervention programs where this perspective is linked to volunteer work.

We also promote the participation of university youth in solving problems in their environment, we bet on awareness and training as transformative mechanisms and we promote leadership and human development from a transversal and holistic perspective ”.

Finally, Díaz Vázquez recognized and congratulated Baccalaureate 32 for the relevance of this discussion, because through specific actions, those who study at said campus can access this training; “I am convinced that this activity will allow a greater understanding of the meaning of peace for the community of this school, but also the possibility of replicating in the institution those actions and proposals that our renowned panelists will share with the university community.”

During his speech, the director of Bachillerato 32, Cirilo Topete Alcaraz defined the culture of peace “as an element that allows the construction of new routes for the sustainable development of peoples and is promoted through training actions that put human rights, prevention of violence, substantive equality between men and women and inclusion. For this, I thank our Rector Christian Torres Ortiz for his support to promote these actions. They strengthen the training of all our students, as well as the teaching, administrative, secretarial and general services staff ”.

In the framework of this Conversation, recognized activists and promoters of the culture of peace participated, such as Andrea Palomo from Switzerland, Carolina Letona from Guatemala, Johan Jaramillo from Colombia, Lucero Padilla from Oaxaca, Jesús Monjarás from San Luis Potosí, Esther Pérez de Hidalgo and Edder Reynaga from the University of Colim

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Cameroon: Peace action: tribute to Mirabelle Lingom and Confort Tamasang

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Cameroun Actuel

Women’s rights organizations, including the pioneer WILPF Cameroon, gathered within the Consultation Platform “Cameroon Women for National Dialogue”, organized a workshop on September 28, 2021 in Douala. to monitor and evaluate their actions .

Created on September 10, 2019, after the announcement of the national dialogue by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, the Women’s Consultation Platform for the National Dialogue was set up and organized with other partners, consultations of women’s associations and groups in the country and in the diaspora to discuss the process to be taken collectively to make the voice of women heard during the national dialogue. This pre-dialogue consultation was in line with the National Action Plan implemented in line with Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Following the GDN, the platform embarked on a new advocacy for the holding of a new national dialogue that is more inclusive of the main stakeholders and that takes more account of the voice of women.

To this end, the convention organized by this platform appeared to be an extraordinary opportunity, a real catalyst that could have favored the government’s capitalization of initiatives such as the “Cry of Cameroon women”.

From then on, WILPF Cameroon carried out a gender analysis of conflicts, which helped them to put in place a process towards peace with the support of its members. So far, the results of the analysis have shown that women support each other in the context of conflict in Cameroon. Notwithstanding a few obstacles, the platform got involved in activities despite the difficult context marked by an increase in killings in Cameroon and fewer opportunities for solutions.

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(Click here for the original French version)

Questions for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

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Out of the crisis through dialogue

The members of this platform continue to lose their brothers and sisters because of gender-based violence and war. For Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo, president of WILPF Cameroon and coordinator of the platform, “the workshop to evaluate the actions of this platform aims to proceed with a better structuring, coordination and also to question our associative commitment. That’s why we thought about enlisting the support of a consultant to discuss the ins and outs of our problems as members of civil society organizations and platforms.”

Regarding issues that affect women, the platform believes that the government must, among other things: put in place measures to address the issue of impunity for perpetrators of gender-based violence in a sustainable manner; concretize the institutionalization of peace education in order to promote a culture of peace in and outside school; institutionalize a simplified procedure for accessing legal birth certificates and national identity cards destroyed as a result of the crisis; improve women’s access to property; make arrangements for the establishment of a structure specializing in trauma in order to deal with the problems of sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian contexts, etc …

End conflicts

Thanks to the support of development partners and the government, women’s movements have been structured to create more and more spaces for women. But with the rise of violence and crises in recent years in Cameroon, women have regularly risen to ask for peace.

In this case, on September 28, members of the platform “Cameroon Women for National Dialogue” recalled that this workshop was also organized for survivors and victims. In particular, thoughts are with Mirabelle Lingom and Confort Tamasang, who have paid the price for gender-based violence respectively.

“These lives are being lost for nothing, as voices are raised to call for inclusive dialogue to end conflict and combat gender-based violence.” concluded Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo, coordinator of the platform.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Fatima Al-Ansar Describes Her Vision While Launching a “Urgent Appeal” to All Malian Organizations Working in the Field of Conflict Resolution, Mediation and the Prevention of Violent Extremism to “Unite Their Efforts”

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Bamada Net

On the sidelines of the conference-debate on “religions, secularism and citizenship: what are the stakes for Mali? », the new director of Timbuktu Institute-Mali, gave us the first interview since taking office last week. At the head of this research-action structure, advocating the taking into account of endogenous resources and the experimentation of agile approaches in a crisis context, Fatima al-Ansar sets out her vision while launching an “urgent appeal” to all organizations of Malian women working in the field of conflict resolution, mediation and prevention of violent extremism to “unite their efforts within the framework of an inclusive coalition of actors”.


Photo of Fatima Al-Ansar from Peacetalks

The Independent: You have just been appointed to head the Think Tank, Timbuktu Institute, which is an African Center for Peace Studies. What is the scope of the establishment of this structure in Mali, especially as there are a number of other organizations also involved in this issue?

Fatima Al-Ansar: This approach is in line with the conference-debate that we organized on Saturday September 25th. Before the creation of the Timbuktu Institute, when the various actors, national, regional or international met and consulted, they all deplored either the insufficiency of endogenous capacities or their non-development in the search for a solution to conflicts or the prevention of crises in Africa. Considering this delay in these efforts and also the deplorable scarcity of forward thinking frameworks promoting endogenous and inclusive solutions, Timbuktu Institute wants to be a regional instrument capable of compensating for this lack.

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(Click here for the original French version)

Questions for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

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L’Indép: So what will be your magic recipe to achieve it when you know others have tried it before you?

F.A: It should be noted that the vocation of the Timbuktu Institute is the training of new generations in innovative methods and approaches in promoting the culture of peace as well as the capacity building of actors who can develop public policies. We look for endogenous dimension of solutions, but this does not prevent us from working with international partners on issues related to peacebuilding and conflict prevention, political violence, identity, even religious, etc. Considering our past rich with inputs from many sources, we believe that approaches are available today that can accelerate our process of reconciliation.

L’Indép: Since the outbreak of the multidimensional crisis in Mali in 2012, we have heard so many declarations of good intentions and wishful thinking. What are your assets in achieving the objectives set, namely the return of peace?

F.A: The difference is that the installation of the Institute in our country coincides with a critical moment, a turning point where we have no choice but to move forward or expose the country to an inextricable crisis in addition to the current difficulties. In fact, in my vision at the head of Timbuktu Institute-Mali, I am campaigning with Mali’s international partners to construct solutions with us that take our concerns into account.

In this spirit of a holistic and inclusive approach, our first program, which will soon be launched, is entitled “The Word to Malians: for reconciliation.” It is fully in line with strategic documents such as the National Reconciliation Strategy and the one on reconciliation and prevention of violent extremism that was recently validated. The failure of nation building strategies in Afghanistan reminds us that we must listen our own people and not impose paradigms devised elsewhere.

L’Indép: In your remarks, you put forward the idea of ​​launching a large coalition of partnerfs engaged research and action for endogenous solutions. What does it consist of?

F.A: You know, there is too much dispersion of precious efforts by the research-action structures and by Malian civil society organizations. More and more, we find a real desire for synergy. The Timbuktu Institute seeks to give substance to this desire for unity which is emerging. After making contact with many of these actors in all regions of Mali, I am starting with my team, next week, a series of meetings with organizations sharing this vision. I think now is the time to act. We must build these synergies to boost inclusive endogenous initiatives, promote them and support them through strategic thinking.

For me, this is not at odds with international cooperation; it is a simple promotion of the solutions that the Malians themselves can offer. I believe much more in this empowerment of thinking about our problems than in the desire to play on international rivalries or import conflicts. The people of Mali and their desire for peace and reconciliation are part of the solution. We need to gather together around the table of solutions and move towards reconciliation. We have the resources if we can cope with political crises. All that is needed is the will.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

United Nations: Non-Violence Day offers prospect for ‘new era of peace, trust and tolerance’

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from the United Nations

In his message for the International Day of Non-Violence, on Saturday, the UN chief noted that the day provides an opportunity to usher in a “new era of peace, trust and tolerance”.


UN / Ryan Brown. Gandhi stamps created by the UN post for the International Day of Non-Violence.

Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that it was no coincidence that the day coincides with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi – leader of India’s independence movement and a founder of the principles of non-violence.

“For Gandhi, non-violence, peaceful protest, dignity and equality were more than words. They represented a guiding light for humanity, a map to a better future”, he said.

‘Template’ for the future

The UN chief also pointed to the movement as “a template” to confront today’s troubled times.  

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

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

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“Conflicts and climate change. Poverty and inequalities.  Mistrust and divisions.  All under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to devastate people and economies alike”, he said.

The UN chief underscored that the solution to these challenges “is in our hands: solidarity”.    
Solutions ‘in our hands’

The principle of non-violence, also known as non-violent resistance, rejects the use of physical force to achieve social or political change and has been adopted globally in campaigns for social justice.

 “We need to recognize, as Gandhi did, that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. That peace provides the only pathway to a better future for all”, he said.

Coming together as one

Addressing global challenges means “coming together as one human family, and embracing peace like never before”, Mr. Guterres said, calling on combatants around the world to lay down their arms and “focus on defeating humanity’s common enemy – COVID-19 – not one another”.  

He underscored the urgent need to deliver lifesaving vaccines and treatment, “and support countries in the long road to recovery ahead”; intensify efforts to reduce inequalities and end poverty; and create “a bold global plan of action” to heal the planet.  

Most of all, flagged the UN chief, “we need to renew trust in one another”.

“Hatred, division, conflict and mistrust have had their day”, he said.  “It is time to usher in a new era of peace, trust and tolerance”.

Mr. Guterres urged everyone to “heed Gandhi’s message of peace and get down to the business of building a better and more peaceful future for all”.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina to Receive the War Abolisher of 2021 Award

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from World Beyond War

Today, September 27, 2021, World BEYOND War announces as the recipient of the War Abolisher of 2021 Award: Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina. As already announced, the Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher Award of 2021 will be presented to Peace Boat, and the David Hartsough Lifetime Individual War Abolisher Award of 2021 will be presented to Mel Duncan.


A frame from their video.

An online presentation and acceptance event, with remarks from representatives of all three 2021 award recipients will take place on October 6, 2021, at 5 a.m. Pacific Time, 8 a.m. Eastern Time, 2 p.m. Central European Time, and 9 p.m. Japan Standard Time. The event is open to the public and will include presentations of three awards, a musical performance by Ron Korb, and three breakout rooms in which participants can meet and talk with the award recipients. Participation is free.  Register here for Zoom link.

 World BEYOND War is a global nonviolent movement, founded in 2014, to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. In 2021 World BEYOND War is announcing its first-ever annual War Abolisher Awards.

The purpose of the awards is to honor and encourage support for those working to abolish the institution of war itself. With the Nobel Peace Prize and other nominally peace-focused institutions so frequently honoring other good causes or, in fact, wagers of war, World BEYOND War intends its award to go to educators or activists intentionally and effectively advancing the cause of war abolition, accomplishing reductions in war-making, war preparations, or war culture. Between June 1 and July 31, World BEYOND War received hundreds of impressive nominations. The World BEYOND War Board, with assistance from its Advisory Board, made the selections.

The awardees are honored for their body of work directly supporting one or more of the three segments of World BEYOND War’s strategy for reducing and eliminating war as outlined in the book “A Global Security System, An Alternative to War.” They are: Demilitarizing Security, Managing Conflict Without Violence, and Building a Culture of Peace.

Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina (Građanska inicijativa Sačuvajmo Sinjajevinu in Serbian) is a popular movement in Montenegro that has prevented the implementation of a planned NATO military training ground, blocking military expansion while protecting a natural environment, a culture, and a way of life. Save Sinjajevina remains vigilant to the danger of ongoing efforts to impose a base on their treasured land. (See  https://sinjajevina.org )

Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and the rumors began in 2018 of plans to impose a military (including artillery) training ground on the grasslands of Sinjajevina Mountain, the biggest mountain pasture in the Balkans and the second largest in Europe, a unique landscape of immense natural and cultural value, part of the Tara River Canyon Biosphere Reserve and surrounded by two UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is used by more than 250 families of farmers and nearly 2,000 people, while many of its pastures are used and managed communally by eight different Montenegrin tribes.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between the environment and peace

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Public demonstrations against the militarization of Sinjajevina gradually arose from 2018 onwards. In September 2019, ignoring over 6,000 signatures of Montenegrin citizens that should have compelled a debate in the Montenegrin Parliament, the parliament announced the creation of a military training ground without any environmental, socio-economic, or health-impact assessments, and NATO forces arrived to train. In November 2019, an international scientific research team presented its works to UNESCO, the European Parliament, and the European Commission, explaining the bio-cultural value of Sinjajevina. In December 2019 the Save Sinjajevina association was officially launched. On October 6, 2020, Save Sinjajevina launched a petition to stop the creation of the military training ground. On October 9, 2020, farmers demonstrated at the doors of Parliament when they knew that the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement was at that moment in the country’s capital. Beginning October 19th, rumors started to appear about a new military training on Sinjajevina.

On October 10th, 2020, news broke and the rumors of a new military training being planned were confirmed by the Minister of the Defence. About 150 farmers and their allies set up a protest camp in the highland pastures to block soldiers’ access to the area. They formed a human chain in the grasslands and used their bodies as shields against the live ammunition of the planned military exercise. For months they stood in the way of the military moving from one side of the plateau to another, in order to prevent the military from firing and executing their drill. Whenever the military moved, so did the resisters. When Covid hit and national restrictions on gatherings were implemented, they took turns in four-person groups set in strategic spots to stop the guns from firing. When the high mountains turned cold in November, they bundled up and held their ground. They resisted for more than 50 days in freezing conditions until the new Montenegrin Minister of Defense, who was appointed on the 2nd of December, announced that the training would be cancelled.

The Save Sinjajevina movement — including farmers, NGOs, scientists, politicians, and ordinary citizens — has continued to develop local democratic control over the future of the mountains threatened by NATO, has continued to engage in public education and lobbying of elected officials, and has offered its insights through numerous fora to those working in other parts of the world to prevent the construction of, or to close existing, military bases.

Opposing military bases is very difficult, but absolutely crucial to abolishing war. Bases destroy indigenous people’s and local communities’ ways of life and healthier ways to make a living. Stopping the harm done by bases is central to the work of World BEYOND War. The Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina is doing the educational and nonviolent activist work that is most needed, and with stunning success and influence. Save Sinjajevina is also making necessary connections between peace, environmental protection, and local community promotion, and between peace and democratic self-governance. If war is ever fully ended, it will be because of work like that being done by the Civic Initiative Save Sinjajevina. We should all offer them our support and solidarity.
The movement has launched a new global petition at https://bit.ly/sinjajevina.

Taking part in the online event on October 6, 2021, will be these representatives of the Save Sinjajevina Movement:

Milan Sekulovic, a Montenegrin journalist and civic-environmental activist, and the founder of the Save Sinjajevina movement;
Pablo Dominguez, an eco-anthropologist who specialized on pastoral mountain commons and how they work bio-ecologically and socio-culturally.

Petar Glomazic, an aeronautical engineer and aviation consultant, documentary film maker, translator, alpinist, ecological and civic rights activist, and a Steering Committee Member of Save Sinjajevina.

Persida Jovanović is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in political science and international relations, and she spent most of her life in Sinjajevina. She is now working together with local communities and the Save Sinjajevina association to preserve the traditional way of life and ecosystem of the mountain.

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UN Urged to Declare a Global Peace Education Day

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An article by Anwarul Chowdhury in IDN-InDepth News (published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)

Following is the text of Inaugural Keynote Address by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations and Founder of The Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), at the First Annual Peace Education Day Conference organized virtually by The Unity Foundation and Peace Education Network.


Photo: UN Blue Helmets. Credit: United Nations

I thank Bill McCarthy, President and Founder of the Unity Foundation and Chair of this first annual Peace Education Day Conference and the Peace Education Network for organizing the conference with the excellent objective of getting the UN to declare an International Peace Education Day. I believe it would be better if it is called the Global Peace Education Day.

I am honored to be invited to speak at the conference as the inaugural keynote speaker on a subject which is very close to my heart and my persona.

As I have stated on many occasions, my life’s experience has taught me to value peace and equality as the essential components of our existence. Those unleash the positive forces of good that are so needed for human progress.

Peace is integral to human existence—in everything we do, in everything we say and in every thought we have, there is a place for peace. We should not isolate peace as something separate or distant. It is important to realize that the absence of peace takes away the opportunities that we need to better ourselves, to prepare ourselves, to empower ourselves to face the challenges of our lives, individually and collectively.

For two decades and half, my focus has been on advancing the culture of peace which aims at making peace and non-violence a part of our own self, our own personality—a part of our existence as a human being. And this will empower ourselves to contribute more effectively to bring inner as well as outer peace.

This is the core of the self-transformational dimension of my advocacy around the globe and for all ages, with special emphasis on women, youth and children. This realization has now become more pertinent in the midst of the ever-increasing militarism and militarization that is destroying both our planet and our people.

The International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men was held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast in 1989 organized by UNESCO under the wise and dynamic leadership of my dear friend Federico Mayor Zaragoza, then UNESCO Director-General who is joining this conference also as a keynote speaker. It was a landmark gathering to give a boost and a profile to the concept of the culture of peace aimed at promoting a change of values and behaviors.

On 13 September 1999, 22 years ago last week, the United Nations adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace, a monumental document that transcends boundaries, cultures, societies and nations.

It was an honor for me to Chair the nine-month long negotiations that led to the adoption of this historic norm-setting document by the United Nations General Assembly. That document asserts that inherent in the culture of peace is a set of values, modes of behaviour and ways of life.

A significant aspect of the essential message as articulated in the UN documents effectively asserts that the “culture of peace is a process of individual, collective and institutional transformation …” ‘Transformation’ is of the key relevance here.

It is basic to remember that the culture of peace requires a change of our hearts, change of our mindset. It can be internalized through simple ways of living, changing of our own behavior, changing how we relate to each other, changing how we connect with the oneness of humanity. The essence of the culture of peace is its message of inclusiveness and of global solidarity.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations in its sustainable development goal (SDGs) number 4.7 includes, among others, promotion of culture of peace and non-violence as well as global citizenship as part of the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

It also calls on the international community to ensure that all learners acquire those by the year 2030. Keeping that in focus, the theme of the UN High Level Forum in 2019 observing the 20th anniversary of the culture of peace at the UN was “The Culture of Peace—Empowering and Transforming the Humanity” aiming at a forward-looking and inspiring agenda for the next twenty years.

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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In my introduction to the 2008 publication “Peace Education: A Pathway to a Culture of Peace”, I wrote, “As Maria Montessori had articulated so appropriately, those who want a violent way of living, prepare young people for that; but those, who want peace have neglected their young children and adolescents and that way are unable to organize them for peace.”

In UNICEF, peace education is very succinctly defined as “the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behavior change that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an interpersonal, intergroup, national or international levels”.

Peace education needs to be accepted in all parts of the world, in all societies and countries as an essential element in creating the culture of peace. It deserves a radically different education—“one that does not glorify war but educates for peace, non-violence and international cooperation.” They need the skills and knowledge to create and nurture peace for their individual selves as well as for the world they belong to.

Never has it been more important for us to learn about the world and understand its diversity.  The task of educating children and young people to find non-aggressive means to relate with one another is of primary importance.

All educational institutions need to offer opportunities that prepare the students not only to live fulfilling lives but also to be responsible, conscious and productive citizens of the world. For that, educators need to introduce holistic and empowering curricula that cultivate a culture of peace in each and every young mind.

Indeed, this should be more appropriately called “education for global citizenship”. Such learning cannot be achieved without well-intentioned, sustained, and systematic peace education that leads the way to the culture of peace.

If our minds could be likened to a computer, then education provides the software with which to “reboot” our priorities and actions away from violence, towards the culture of peace. The Global Campaign for Peace Education has continued to contribute in a meaningful way towards this objective and must receive our continuous support.

For this, I believe that early childhood affords a unique opportunity for us to sow the seeds of transition from the culture of war to the culture of peace. The events that a child experiences early in life, the education that this child receives, and the community activities and socio-cultural mindset in which a child is immersed all contribute to how values, attitudes, traditions, modes of behavior, and ways of life develop.

We need to use this window of opportunity to instill the rudiments that each individual needs to become agents of peace and non-violence from an early life.

Connecting the role of individuals to broader global objectives, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior affirmed that “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” The UN Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace pays special attention to this aspect of an individual’s self-transformation.

In this context, I would reiterate that women in particular have a major role to play in promoting the culture of peace in our violence-ridden societies, thereby bringing in lasting peace and reconciliation. Women’s equality makes our planet safe and secure. It is my strong belief that unless women are engaged in advancing the culture of peace at equal levels with men, sustainable peace would continue to elude us.

We should always remember that without peace, development is impossible, and without development, peace is not achievable, but without women, neither peace nor development is conceivable.

The work for peace is a continuous process and I am convinced that culture of peace is absolutely the most essential vehicle for realizing the goals and objectives of the United Nations in the twenty-first century.

Let me conclude by urging all of you most earnestly that we need to encourage the young people to be themselves, to build their own character, their own personality, which is embedded with understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity and in solidarity with rest of humanity.

We need to convey that to the young people. This is the minimum we can do as adults. We should do everything to empower them in the real sense, and such empowerment is going to stay with them for life. That is the significance of the Culture of Peace. It is not something temporary like resolving a conflict in one area or between communities without transforming and empowering people to sustain peace.

Let us—yes, all of us—embrace the culture of peace for the good of humanity, for the sustainability of our planet and for making our world a better place to live. 

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