In a Culture of Peace, all the different cultures and customs create a remarkable and beautiful fabric for all humanity. All the colors and threads come together, and every thread and color counts.
Subud International Cultural Association (SICA), in Austin, was one of the UN's NGO "Messengers of Manifesto 2000" gathering signatures of support and commitment for the Manifesto.
For a copy of Manifesto 2000 handout, CLICK HERE.
CULTURE OF PEACE
Image courtesy Peace Day Philly
"The culture of peace and non-violence is a commitment to peace-building, mediation, conflict prevention and resolution, peace education, education for non-violence, tolerance, acceptance, mutual respect, intercultural and interfaith dialogue and reconciliation." — UNESCO
“When we build a culture of understanding and uphold human dignity, we build a better world. We live in a changing and interconnected world, where local events can have an impact globally and international events can also have a local impact . . . . You can foster contacts and create conditions that will lead to sustainable peace, social justice and cultural cohesion.”
— U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
BUILDING A CULTURE OF PEACE
Observances and activities honoring the U.N. International Day of Peace (Peace Day) take place on and around September 21. The act of being involved in Peace Day ideally contributes to a greater awareness of peacebuilding at various levels —personal, local, global — and contributes to advancing a “Culture of Peace. ”For more on UN and UNESCO initiatives to advance a Culture of Peace, CLICK HERE.
As defined by the United Nations, “Culture of Peace” is a “set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups, and nations.”
Since its founding over 60 years ago, UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) asserted that, “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.”
• For the “8 Action Areas for a Culture of Peace” Hand-Out, CLICK HERE.
• For a description of the concept and history of the Culture of Peace, CLICK HERE.
• For an article by educator and peacebuilder Dot Maver, Ph.D., The Invisible Yet
Existent Culture of Peace, CLICK HERE.
In 1997, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the year 2000 as the International Year of the Culture of Peace. In 1999, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury (former Under-Secretary General and High Representative of the UN and President of UNICEF, among other high-level roles), spearheaded an initiative that led to the adoption of a landmark Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and proclamation of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). UNESCO was designated as the lead UN agency for this decade.
A document called “Manifesto 2000″ for a culture of peace and nonviolence was drafted by a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates to translate the resolutions of the United Nations into everyday language and to make them relevant to people everywhere. CLICK HERE for the Manifesto 2000.
The key pledges of the Manifesto 2000 are to:
• Respect the life and dignity of each human being;
• Practice active nonviolence;
• Share my time and material resources;
• Defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity;
• Promote consumer behavior that is responsible, and
• Contribute to the development of my community.
The concept of a Culture of Peace has now grown into a global movement. Within the Culture of Peace framework, peace embraces far more than an absence of conflict. It encompasses tolerance, disarmament, sustainable economic and social development, democratic participation, gender equality, freedom of expression and respect for human rights. The transition from a culture of war to a Culture of Peace requires the transformation of individual behavior as well as institutional practices. Learning to live in peace and harmony is a long-term process, and begins with the development of inner peace, and nurturing attitudes that promote the expansion and integration of peaceful principles. Education and awareness-raising play key roles in this process.