A NEW LEVEL, AN HISTORIC STEP FORWARD

(Une version française suit en dessous) We have advanced to a new level, an historic step forward, in the struggle for a culture of peace. For the first time there are so many virtual events for the culture of peace free and open to the public that we have begun listing them on CPNN. Now … Read more

The UN Resolution for the Culture of Peace

This summer and fall is seeing an increase in the number of international conferences dedicated to the culture of peace and basing their analysis on the Declaration and Program of Action for a Culture of Peace that was adopted 20 years ago by the UN General Assembly. The UN resolution provides a holistic, positive view … Read more

“Slow News” vs “Fast History”

This month’s CPNN bulletin describes the “slow news” of culture of peace as it has been developing for some time now in Africa. The reforestation of the Great Green Wall and the Plant a Million Trees initiative seem to symbolize the slow pace of the process, especially when one recalls that the pre-colonial peace mechanism of Africa was to … Read more

What happens after peace accords are signed

Now that there is a ceasefire in Colombia, as described in this month’s bulletin of CPNN, the question arises whether a culture of peace can be maintained afterwards. When I was working on the culture of peace in UNESCO, I experienced a similar situation in two countries, El Salvador and Mozambique. Both of them emerged … Read more

Peace, nonviolence, compassion, and culture of peace

The various initiatives at the level of the city described in this month’s CPNN bulletin are devoted to these four different goals: peace, nonviolence, compassion and culture of peace. Certainly the initiatives are complementary and they have the potential to join in a unified struggle to change the world. But their unity remains to be achieved. What … Read more

Culture of Peace: Are we making progress?

This month’s bulletin gives us an idea of where progress is being made (or not being made) towards a culture of peace if we compare it to the CPNN bulletins of 2015. On the good side Progress is being made at  a grass-roots level by social movements for sustainable development and food sovereignty, often led or inspired … Read more

The Universality of the Movement for a Culture of Peace

This month’s CPNN bulletin shows that initiatives for a culture of peace are taking place in most regions of the world.  As discussed in previous blogs, Latin America and Africa are in the leadership, although this may be difficult for the North to accept . The Arab States took two steps forward with the “Arab Spring”, although the turnaround in Egypt moved them one step back.  … Read more

History is moving dialectically

The CPNN bulletins for August 1 and September 1 illustrate how history is moving dialectically.  Two opposing tendencies exist and interact simultaneously, the culture of war and the culture of peace.  At the same time the culture of war advances towards self-destruction, the culture of peace is slowly growing.  While the commercial media drowns us with news about the culture … Read more