Excerpts from "People Building Peace"

Excerpts from "People Building Peace - 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World"

From a new book 'People Building Peace - 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World'. It is a publication of the European Centre for Conflict Prevention in cooperation with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation http://www.ifor.org and the Coexistence Initiative of State of the World Forum http://www.co-net.org . The book costs US$19.00 and can be ordered from the European Centre's web site at http://www.euconflict.org or by email euconflict@euconflict.org . The following excerpts from Paul van Tongeren, Executive Director of the European Centre in his Introduction:

- 'The Carnegie Commission's 'Preventing Deadly Conflict' report http://www.ccpdc.org came to this conclusion: First, deadly conflict is not inevitable. Second, the need to prevent deadly conflict is increasingly urgent. Third, preventing deadly conflict is possible.
- The prevention of deadly conflict, the report argues, is over the long term, too hard intellectually, technically, and politically to be the responsibility of any single institution or government, no matter how powerful. Strengths must be pooled, burdens shared and labour divided among actors.
- Gone are the days when diplomats could conduct policies of which the citizens were unaware.
- In the past decade the number of peacebuilders working at all levels of society in places of ethnic and civil conflicts around the world has mushroomed.
- One of the lessons (from the book) is the importance of a coherent and integrated effort involving as many tracks as possible. The multiplier effect which is created this way greatly enhances the chances for sustainable peace.
- Peace is profitable. We can only hope that the management of many more companies, Chambers of Commerce, etc. will come to the conclusion that they too can plan an important role in the transition from violence to peace and democracy.
- Another thing we can learn from the stories presented here is that 'ordinary people' as well as minority groups can make a difference. By means of their creative approaches, their perseverance and compassion, many individuals around the world have succeeded in transforming apparently
hopeless situations. We are able to achieve much more than we are sometimes inclined to think!
- We feel that, apart from anything else, these case-studies clearly illustrate the potential of multitrack diplomacy (on which there is a chapter). A substantial additional investment in these kinds of initiatives - which in many cases are relatively inexpensive would greatly enhance the chances for peace in many places around the world.'

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Here are some of the lessons learned from the 35 inspiring stories in the book 'People Building Peace'. excerpted from Paul van Tongeren, Executive Director of the European Centre section 'Reflections on Peace Building':

1. Involve as many people and sectors as possible in peace-building.
2. Strengthen local capacities for peace.
3. Conceive peace building and reconciliation as a process.
4. Change and transform the conflict pattern: create hope.
5. Create dialogue.
6. Promote education and enhance professionalism. (Professionalism of peace building can enhance its effectiveness.)
7. Exchange experiences.
8. Include local authorities.
9. Strengthen coalition building between civil organizations.
10. Institution-building.
11. Make 'Conflict Impact Assessment' a requirement.
12. Role of the corporate sector.
13. Role of donors.
14. Prioritise Early Warning and Early Response.
15. Promote an integrative approach to peace building and reconciliation by using a combination of approaches.
16. Mainstream Multi-Track diplomacy.

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Twelve Principles of Multi-Track Diplomacy - copyright Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy http://www.igc.apc.org/imtd

1. Relationship - building strong interpersonal and inter-group relations throughout the fabric of society.
2. Longterm commitment - making an ongoing commitment to people and welcoming the processes that may take years to come to fruition.
3. Cultural synergy - respecting the cultural wisdom of all parties and welcoming the creative interaction of different cultural views.
4. Partnership - modelling a collaborative process by forming partnerships with local parties and with other institutions and coalitions.
5. Multiple technologies - utilisinga variety of technologies, as appropriate, and creating new methods, as needed, to meet the unique requirements of each situation.
6. Facilitation - assisting parties to take responsibility for their own dreams and destiny.
7. Empowerment - helping people to become empowered agents of change and transformation within their societies.
8. Action research - learning from all that we do and sharing that learning with others.
9. Invitation - entering the system where invited or offered an open door.
10. Trust - building relationships of mutual trust and caring within the system.
11. Engagement - acknowledge that once we enter a system, we become a unique part of it, an engaged, caring and accountable partner.
12. Transformation - catalysing changes at the deepest level of beliefs, assumptions, and values, as well as behaviours and structures.

Here are some of the lessons learned from the 35 inspiring stories in the book 'People Building Peace'. (available from the European Centre for Conflict Prevention at http://www.euconflict.org or by email euconflict@euconflict.org ). This excerpt by Louise Diamond, Executive Director of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy http://www.igc.apc.org/imtd :

Multi-Track Diplomacy in the 21st Century

- Working at different levels of social organization, from the political to the institutional to the social, these individuals, and the organizations and institutions through which they operate, are the visible manifestation of the multi-track approach.

- Many who step forward as local peacebuilders in their own communities are influenced by third party actors, a growing force of professionals and private citizens who design and implement programs of peace-building or conflict prevention, management, resolution and transformation in places of conflict around the world. In some cases, these individuals become so committed to the practice of peace-building that they themselves become professionals or para-professionals in the field, creating institutions of their own and operating as catalysts and third parties to others.

Trends in World Affairs that Loom as Potential Threats to Global Security in the Coming Era:
1. The Globalization of Violence -... The illegitimate industries, like their legitimate counterparts, are cooperating, consolidating and diversifying their interests, forming shadowy infrastructure that covers the globe, de-stabilizes vulnerable systems, and thrives on chaos...
2. The Breakdown of Systemic Integrity - ...eg. environmental systems, families, moral systems, education systems, economic systems, political systems...
3. The Rise of Rogues - ...rogue individuals and nations are emerging in record numbers...
4. The Depletion of Natural Resources - ...water, oil, land, forests and breathable air are in increasingly short supply... the imbalance of overpopulation ... ozone, global warming, poisoning of oceans...
5. The Institutionalization of Polarization - ...the deepening of polarization as a norm of social, political and economic interaction has become apparent in the last decade... the north vs. south, west vs. east, haves vs. have-nots, conservatives vs. liberals, developed worlds vs. undeveloped...
6. Challenges to the Nation State - ...The new millenium will require humanity to be creative in designing ways that peoples and national groups can experience the dignity and integrity of their identity while simultaneously maintaining the unity and viability of a world order based on law and mutual respect...
7. Changing Power Blocs - ...fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the United States as the single superpower ... evolution of the European Union and NATO ... China ...
8. The Traumatization of the Human Family - ...Post Traumatic Stress Disease is probably the most widespread disease on the planet. This means that many places in conflict remain vulnerable to political manipulation and ongoing cycles of violence, as the people are lacking the personal strength and inner resources to resist the forces that call for retribution and revenge...

- I would go so far as to suggest that the work of peace-building is at the forefront of our planet's evolutionary journey in these times.

- The very dangerous conditions described in the section above arise from, and thrive in, a worldview and set of assumptions about the world as a place of separation. Separative consciousness sees duality and difference as opportunity for superiority, dominance and control, and breeds materialism, greed and violence.

- The world is living through a major period of transformation, as the bankruptcy of one worldview becomes apparent, while the new worldview is still in its infant stages. This produces both the potential for chaos and the potential for great creativity.

Multi-Track Diplomacy can face the Unique Challenges of This Transformational Period in Seven Quite Specific Ways:

1. Maintaining Flexibility in the Face of the Unknown - ...A single event ... could easily change the face of life on this planet as we know it...peacebuilders need to be prepared to move in several directions at once, both responding to whatever opportunities present themselves for positive and effective work for peace, and also being pro-active in turning challenges into opportunities...
2. Recognizing Healing as the Key to Transformation - ...unless humanity learns how to heal itself, the trauma will condemn us to repeat the same cycles of violence from generation to generation...
3. Building the Infrastructure for Peace - ...The forces of war (and violence) have an existing infrastructure that enables them to mobilize and actualize their aims... The forces of peace have little of this...
4. Taking the Holistic and Positive View - ...we need the natural interface of several disciplines...This kind of relational awareness is critical to building peace systems, for it encourages the kind of connections, bridges, alliances and networking that are essential to the ongoing support of the change process...
5. Making Peace from the Inside Out - ...People whose life is given to peace-building...may be prone to work themselves beyond the point of balance...When we are taking the time to integrate what we teach about peace in the outer domain with our deep experience of peace within, we can be much more effective, at the individual and at the institutional levels, in two
ways: we are clearer and stronger channels for the outer work when we take time to reconnect with our own inner source of peace, and we are better models for others, showing by our presence as much as by our actions that peace is a viable an dynamic state.
6. Creating New Pathways for Shifting Consciousness - ...we occupy a position in the world analagous to the early road or railway builders...As with road building, once we open a path, more and more travellers will use it, especially if it carries them to where they want to go. The ways of thinking and acting we are inviting people into is different, and a better game than war, and our work makes it possible for people in large numbers to make that shift. Knowing this, we can be more intentional about it.
7. Empowering Peacebuilders for Local Action - building peace is primarily a local task. What we can offer is to give people a view and a direct experience of what is possible, help them do what they want to do faster and better, and perhaps strengthen their capacity to use appropriate tools and skills. We can motivate, catalyze, inspire, instruct, facilitate, encourage, support, assist, demonstrate, and convene.

- Our power to empower is perhaps the most important role we can play in the 21st century. The more individuals who feel empowered to work in their own systems for peace and conflict transformation, the closer the world comes to that critical mass that will allow for a massive leap in consciousness, allowing new processes for peace that were previously unimaginable to become normative, and easy.

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