Our work on Peace Education

The GPPAC Peace Education Working Group, initiated a multistakeholder collaboration between Western Balkans Regional Secretariat, the Nansen Dialogue Centre Montenegro, and the Ministry of...

GPPAC representation at the UN High-level event on Human Security in New York

Lisa Schirch, director of 3P Human Security and long-term GPPAC partner, has been invited to speak today at the UN's high level event on Human Security. She will give a concise overview of the...

GPPAC and the World Federalist Movement / Institute for Global Policy, (WFM-IGP), are looking for an Advocacy Liaison Officer to the United Nations

GPPAC and the World Federalist Movement / Institute for Global Policy, (WFM-IGP), are looking for an Advocacy Liaison Officer to the United Nation Deadline to apply: 24 May 2013 GPPAC is...

Local First  is a campaign initiated by Peace Direct: It's a development approach that looks first for the capacity within countries before bringing in external expertise and resources, recognises that much of this capacity is found outside central government, and understands that local people need to lead their own development. Local First has developed a list of recommendations to this effect, and is currently holding consultations among various stakeholders to get feedback on those recommendations, with a view to amending them next year.

The Local First approach is very much in line with what GPPAC has been arguing for conflict prevention and peacebuilding: local organisations have crucial understanding of the conflicts in their area and expertise in resolving them, and they should play a leading role any peacebuilding effort.

To support the initiative, GPPAC in cooperation with IKV Pax Christi and the Human Security Collective organised a rountable to discuss the recommendations in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 23 April. Speakers included GPPAC regional representatives for West Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, and representatives from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international NGOs.

Some of the key problems raised were donor-driven agendas and donor-influenced language, causing local organisations to become disconnected from the communities they serve; the problems donor governments can face due to local power relations when trying to work with local groups; NGOs becoming sub-contractors for governments; and friction resulting from gaps between local wages and those paid by international organisations.

The best peacebuilding practice, participants concluded, is locally-led, and internationally supported. The Local First recommendations provide a useful guide for actors, international and local, in achieving this. In the coming months, GPPAC will continue to gather feedback from its members, as it is crucial that the discussion on Local First is also led by 'locals' from the global South.

Programme:

14:00                     Welcome and Introductions

14:10                     Introduction to Local First
                                Carolyn Hayman (Peace Direct, UK)

14:25                     Putting Local First into Practice: Reflections
                                Augusto Miclat Jr. (Initiatives for International Dialogue, Philippines)
                                Raya Kadyrova (Foundation for Tolerance International, Kyrgyzstan)
                                Emmanuel Bombande (West Africa Network for Peacebuilding)
                                Nadeeka Rajaratnam (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
                                Hans Rouw (IKV Pax Christi)

15:40                     Plenary discussion

While recent news have predominantly focused on rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula, members of GPPAC in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) have been involved in developments that might soon lead to the country's adoption of a National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) related to Women Peace and Security. Read more.