| Posted: April 25 2005,19:40 |
If you wrote this report, you will find a button here that you may click
in order to make changes in the report. 
|
PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Yes, particularly within the UN NGO community.
In
the "WE THE PEOPLES" INITIATIVE (WPI), Participating Organizations
provide annual reports on International Day of Peace (IDP) activities
to Pathways To Peace (PTP) in its capacity as the International
Secretariat. Reports show increasing participation each year. In the
most recent 2004 WPI Annual Report, IDP events were identified in 50
nations (26% of all UN-member nations), doubling the numbers reported
in the previous year. Some of the larger IDP events involved hundreds
of thousands, as in Sri Lanka, and a 48-nation synchronized global
link-up for youth. Even Action Network, a free-distribution UK
magazine, published a special "Countdown to Peace" issue urging its
70,000 readers to celebrate the IDP. Many events involved dialogue
across generations, between diverse religious and political
affiliations, and within communities torn by civil strife, such as
extraordinarily inspiring IDP activities in Sudan, Nigeria, Pakistan,
the Kashmir Valley, Mozambique and Nepal. Long-practiced PeaceBuilding
activities such as noon-time moments of silence, prayers, chants, bell
ringing, peace pole plantings and rededications, conferences, vigils,
performances, and rallies, were reported along with new types of Peace
Day actions, such as internet pledge-signing and webcasts, comedy
nights, film premiers, and dedicated mountain climbs. Several large
organizations with worldwide followings promoted the IDP for the first
time, such as Amnesty International USA, and Amma (M.A. Centers), and
more than ever, IDP reports showed inspiring co-sponsorship of events
within communities.
|
OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
|
(paragraph to be added)
|
ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
|
Since
1983, Pathways To Peace (PTP) has worked with the UN and the UN NGO
community in organizing International Day of Peace activities at UN
headquarters and worldwide. This has included PTP collaborating with
the UN Peace Studies Unit in 1987 on an International Day of Peace
(IDP) program with UN Peace Messenger Cities and Peace Messenger
Organisations entitled "Building a Culture of Peace." Since that time,
PTP has established a working group of UN NGOs to introduce the IDP as
an annual highlight day to mark humanity’s collective progress toward
"Building a Culture of Peace." This working group has evolved into the
IDP NGO Committee. All PTP’s programmes, symposia, and media interviews
focus on building awareness of, and participation in, the IDP as an
annual highlight in giving tangible expression of Peace as a practical
reality. PTP serves as International Secretariat for the "WE THE
PEOPLES" INITIATIVE, a network of partnerships and activities involving
over 265 international PeaceBuilding organizations worldwide.
The full 2004 Annual Report of the "WE THE PEOPLES" INITIATIVE may be found at www.wethepeoples.org
under WPI Annual Reports 2004. The following sample pages from this
report have been selected by Fundacion Cultura de Paz to illustrate
widespread participation (Click on the link to go directly to the
actions in the country concerned):
AUSTRALIA
CANADA
INDIA
NEPAL
NEW ZEALAND
NIGERIA
PAKISTAN
PHILIPPINES
SOUTH AFRICA
SRI LANKA
SUDAN
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
|
ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
At
this 60th Anniversary of the UN and the Millennium+5 Review, the UN has
a two-fold opportunity: To focus upon the Decade as the context for
“uniting the strengths” of all Nations to achieve the global agendas
outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and the related plans of
action; and, To focus upon the International Day of Peace as an annual
highlight of measuring progress toward building a Culture of Peace for
all Nations and Peoples.
In support of these objectives, one
suggestion is to reconvene the UN International Day of Peace Steering
Group, which was formed at the request of the Secretary-General and
held its initial meeting March 2003. The Steering Group comprised
representatives of most UN Agencies and Departments, and invited UN
NGOs.
The International Day of Peace was established 1981 by
UN General Assembly Resolution UN/A/RES/36/67, and modified 2001 by
UN/A/RES/55/282, amending the date of IDP to 21 September. The original
resolution called for concentrating “…the efforts of the United Nations
and its Member States, as well as to the whole of mankind, to promoting
the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment
to peace in all viable ways….”
|
PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
PTP
continues its long tradition of working collaboratively with the UN, UN
NGOs, civil society organizations, and Peace Leaders in both public and
private sectors internationally. Through co-operation, the foundations
of a substantive and lasting Culture of Peace are constructed.
Some partnerships and networks include:
-UN International Day of Peace Steering Group
-International Day of Peace NGO Committee
-UN Dept. of Public Information annual student observation of the International Day of Peace
-UNICEF NGO Committee
-Culture of Peace Subcommittee of the NGO Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns
-Values Caucus at the UN
-Spiritual Caucus at the UN
-“WE THE PEOPLES” INITIATIVE with over 265 Participating Organisations worldwide, including
Global
Youth Action Network, Goi Peace Foundation, IDP Vigil, Peace Alliance
Foundation, United Religions Initiative, World Centers of Compassion
for Children, World Goodwill, World Peace Prayer Society.
|
PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
Since
its inception in 1983, “WE THE PEOPLES” INITIATIVE (WPI) has been
dedicated to “Building a Culture of Peace for Succeeding Generations.”
As International Secretariat of the WPI, a UN-designated Peace
Messenger Initiative, Pathways To Peace will continue to foster
participation in the International Day of Peace (IDP) as an annual
highlight of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Nonviolence for the Children of the World, with its 265-plus
Participating Organisations worldwide. PTP will continue to provide an
annual report on IDP activities to the UN. PTP will continue its long
tradition of building partnerships and networks with PeaceBuilding
organizations and leaders worldwide.
|
Postal address of organization
|
P.O. Box 1057
Larkspur CA 94977 USA
|
E-mail address of organization
|
info@pathwaystopeace.org
|
Website address of organization
|
www.wethepeoples.org
|
Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
|
Education for a Culture of Peace
|
Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
|
Understanding, Tolerance, Solidarity
|
Highest priority country of action (or international)
|
INTERNATIONAL
|
Second priority country of action (or international)
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
