The UN International Day of Peace on September 21st 2008 is fast approaching. On this day, the world calls for 24 hours of worldwide ceasefire and non-violence. The UN appointed this day to celebrate peace through resolution 55/282 in 2001. It is an important means to raise global awareness of the importance of peace and conflict prevention in order to increase the pressure on policy makers, governments and international organizations around the world. Our regional Media Focal Points report on current regional activities.

If you or your organization has any activties or events planned for the International Day of Peace, GPPAC would like to know about it! Or would you like to receive weekly updates on what's happening on the 21st worldwide? Let us know by sending an email to pbp@conflict-prevention.net This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War was held in Japan over 4-6 May, 2008. This historic conference had its roots in the recognition of Article 9 of Japanese constitution as "the foundation for collective security for the entire Asia Pacific region" by the GPPAC Northeast Asia Regional Agenda and GPPAC as a whole at the 2005 Global Conference at UN Headquarters in New York.
The gathering of 30.000 participants throughout Japan, gave new impetus to the Japanese efforts to protect its pacifist constitution as well as was a great opportunity to presented GPPAC network and its involvement in global peacebuilding movement. The event gained significant media coverage within Japan and internationally, and inspired planning of further activities. Click here to read more.

Added on 14 May 2008

In an extensive update from Eastern and Central Africa, GPPAC Regional Initiator NPI-Africa reports on a number of activities and events: NPI-Africa, ACCORD and WANEP, within their collaborative framework of the Africa Alliance for Peace and GPPAC, are delighted to launch new publication called "Call to Action: Agenda for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in Africa"; International Women's Day was commemorated in South Kivu, DRC, by organizing event "Woman, rise, continue, you have the force" accompanied by the presentation of a memorandum to the provincial parliament concerning upcoming elections for the Governor;

In Kenya wide range of activities has been launched aimed at seeking a solution to the crisis following the disputed presidential elections. Besides the activities of ‘The Concerned Citizens for Peace' coalition, which became involved in mediation and coordination of peace building processes, a ‘Listening Forum' has been created in order to give space to Kenyans from variety of backgrounds to express their experiences of how the crisis affected their lives. Furthermore, the Forum for women's participation in the peace processes has been facilitated, together with ‘Hope for Kenya Forum', which focuses on peacebuilding capacities of Churches in Kenya. ‘Building Peace Brainstorming Sessions' aims at generating ideas from variety of peace actors in order to address the present situation in the country.

For further details on these initiatives, as well as on on-going activities in Burundi and Congo Brazzaville, click here to download the full report

NPI-Africa was also involved in commissioning a Peace Song by young musicians from around the country for their Peaceful Elections Campaign in the run-up to the elections. It was targeted particularly at youth, and though it was made in hope of peaceful elections, it became one of the peace anthems that constantly filled the airwaves on radio and television in the crisis that followed the elections. You can listen to and view the song and music video on Youtube (the video is 5:16 minutes long, and may take a while to load on slower connections)

Added on 10 May 2008

From 2 - 4 April 2008 the International Steering Group (ISG) of GPPAC convened in Buenos Aires for its bi-annual meeting, hosted this time by CRIES , the Regional Initiator for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Discussions during the two days of the ISG meeting focused on long term strategic planning, as well as organizational issues, and sharing and giving feedback on challenges being faced in various regions.

On April 3rd, the ISG attended a High Level Panel organized by CRIES and the Argentinean Council on International Relations (CARI), titled "The Prevention of Conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean, Reality or Utopia? Perspectives from the UN, The OAS, governments and civil society."

The ISG members also met with the members of the Regional Steering Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, and visited local peace organization Movimiento por la paz y la no violencia, to exchange experiences and challenges.

Added on 10 April 2008

This new GPPAC issue paper sets out how a civil society organization working in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding should deal and interact with the media. The paper maps what the difficulties are for civil society talking to the media, and what skills or knowledge they should acquire to overcome these obstacles.

The paper was written by Lisa Schirch, Professor of peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, and Vladimir Bratic, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Hollins University.

Please click here to download the paper (PDF, 725 kb). For more information, please contact Marte Hellema at m.hellema@conflict-prevention.net

We are pleased to announce the release of a new GPPAC issue paper on Joint Action for Prevention: Civil Society and Government Cooperation on Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding. The paper includes contributions from Detlev Wolter (Deputy Ambassador of Germany in Saudi Arabia), Don Hubert (University of Ottawa) and Catherine Barnes, as well as inspiring case studies from around the globe on government and civil society cooperation. Please click here (PDF 2,5MB) to download the whole issue paper, or click here to download separate chapters.

For more information, please contact Renske Heemskerk, Programme Manager Interaction and Advocacy, by email at r.heemskerk@conflict-prevention.net

In August 2007 GPPAC Regional Secretariat for West Africa, WANEP, and the Global Secretariat of GPPAC organized a three day exchange seminar in Accra, Ghana, bringing together the Task Force of the GPPAC Early Warning and Early Response programme as well as a representative of ECOWAS. The aim of the meeting was to reflect on the years of experience of WANEP with regard to conflict prevention in West Africa and its structural cooperation with ECOWAS. Furthermore the workshop provided opportunity to exchange ideas on practical experiences in early warning and early  response from different regional networks such as in Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, East Africa and Pacific. The report of this exchange seminar is now available for download here. (Pdf, 1.09 mb)

Added on 29 February 2008

The siege of Gaza has reached new levels of intensity. Israel has imposed an embargo that effectively blocks the delivery of fuel oil supplies to the strip. Thousands of homes in the territory have been left without power. GPPAC is deeply concerned for the 1,5 million citizens of Gaza, who are hardest hit by these measures. Click here to download the statement on the situation in Gaza, initiated by the Arab Partnership for Conflict Prevention and supported by all fifteen regions of the globe represented in the GPPAC International Steering Group.

Added on 6 February 2008

Kenya-based GPPAC Regional Secretariat, the Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa (NPI-Africa), is involved in various peacebuilding activities in Kenya. Click here to read their update about their involvement with the Concerned Citizens for Peace coalition, their work with women's groups, their situation assessments, and their collaboration with local musicians in the 'Basket of Hope' Initiative.

We have also received this 29 january press release by the Women's Coalition for Sustainable Peace who have been part of an initiative facilitated by GPPAC Regional Secretariat NPI-Africa, Action-Aid International, Vital Voices, and UNIFEM with the objective of bringing the women together under one umbrella to address the current crisis. On Saturday 1 March, the group presented this statement to H.E. Kofi Annan, containing its recommendations for sustainable peace.

NPI-Africa was also heavily involved in the Peaceful Elections for Kenya campaign in the run-up to the vote. Local musicians composed and performed a peace song that has been playing on Kenya's airwaves around the clock in recent weeks. You listen to the song and view the video on Youtube . (5:14 minutes, this may take a long time to load on a slow connection)

Updated on 7 March 2008