A Manifesto for Action

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 22 Jul 2024

David Adams | Transition to a Culture of Peace – TRANSCEND Media Service

13 Jul 2024 – Last month’s blog requested your suggestions on how to relaunch a global movement for the culture of peace.

You responded handsomely and there are 10 suggestions printed at the bottom of the blog.

One of the suggestions came from David Hazen. In subsequent correspondence with him, and with the engagement of a third David, David Wick, we have come up with a more refined initiative, for which we again request your suggestions.

Request for proposal

Does the state of deadly world conflict suggest to you that after years of experience in the development of a culture of peace we must renew and amplify our efforts?

We are writing to you in the hope that you can help us develop an interactive system on the Internet that would inspire people around the world to take action for a culture of peace.

To begin this century, in the year 2000, the United Nations declared the International Year for the Culture of Peace. The UN adopted a resolution that defined the culture of peace and proposed 8 action areas: human rights, peace education, sustainable development, women’s equality, democratic participation, tolerance and solidarity, free flow of information and disarmament and security. During the year, 75 million people signed the Manifesto 2000 promising to work for a culture of peace in their daily lives. The paragraphs of the Manifesto corresponded to the programme areas of the UN programme of action.

But the culture of peace did not develop as we had hoped, and now we need it more than ever!

We propose taking up the Manifesto 2000 where it left off, renaming it the Manifesto 2025, gathering signatures once again and initiating action.

We need to go beyond signatures and inspire people to take action in their daily lives as part of a global movement for a culture of peace. We need an internet system that promotes this movement. It needs to be interactive.

Ideally, it could encourage small working groups to make a commitment to the culture of peace, beginning with an exchange of their own values, feelings, and experiences and leading to the development and implementation of actions. Such a system could be partly automatic including a way to upload photos and descriptions of their comments and actions so they could be shared with other groups, with an effective means to avoid spam content.

There would need to be a way to exchange questions and answers, and, although some questions could be answered automatically, others would require human intervention by the system managers.

To make the system grow, participants could be encouraged to promote other similar working groups, and there could be means for direct messaging between groups.

The system should be simple enough for people of all ages and levels of education to use and should be available in several languages.

The three of us, being from an older generation, have previously developed websites in which we tried to get interaction and discussion from readers, but we couldn’t make it work. It seems that the task of developing interaction and discussion on the Internet is not an easy task!

For that reason, we turn to you, members of a newer generation, for your advice and, if possible, proposals.

Do you know of any system on the internet that could succeed in developing the kind of interaction that would motivate people to take action for a culture of peace as described above? Or can you propose how to develop such a system?

We have enough resources to produce a website, but not enough to pay experts for its development.

The system should be based on the definition of the culture of peace in the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, and its everyday version in the Manifesto 2000, re-named the Manifesto 2025.

Click on the link here to read the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. Go to the bottom of the page to click on the language that you want.

Click on the link here to read the Manifesto 2000. And click on this other link to read where the 75 million signatures were gathered.

We look forward to your response, even if just to say that you will think about it.

Peace through struggle and patience,

David Adams, Culture of Peace News Network
David Hazen, Eugene City of Peace & Compassionate Action Network
David Wick, President, Pathways to Peace

Please feel free to send this request to anyone you think can propose an effective interactive system.

Again, as last month, the space is open below (after the French version) for you to enter your suggestions.

*********************

Martin Jones on said:

I applaud, respect and honor what you are doing – – and I share your intentions totally. How to do this is something I am thinking about now and have thought about a lot over the last 20 years.

Education is essential – especially the contrast between the culture we are now living in and what we are trying to move towards. The trick, it seems to me, is how to make that very engaging, challenging, fun and exciting. Perhaps the evolution of online games geared toward people of all different ages. But what is the “hook”? The entry point? Why would they want to spend the time? Certainly not by doomsday predictions, as that drives people away. Why do we do Wordle or Connections? Maybe therein lies the key— something short but daily! Keeping the ideas (the many facets of nonviolence) alive daily. Hmmm…

blog coordinator on said:

The following comment comes from Joseph Yannielli. “I did what one of my students might do and asked ChatGPT: ‘What is the best way to motivate individuals to participate in building the Culture of Peace?’ Its answered as follows. It seems to me that there is a striking correspondence between its recommendations and the project envisaged in the blog above.”

Motivating individuals to participate in building a Culture of Peace involves addressing various psychological, social, and practical factors. Here are some effective strategies:

1. Education and Awareness

Promote Understanding: Raise awareness about the importance of a Culture of Peace through education. Utilize workshops, seminars, and courses to educate individuals about peace, conflict resolution, and the impact of violence.

Highlight Success Stories: Share real-life examples and success stories of peaceful resolutions and communities that have benefited from peace-building efforts. This can inspire and motivate individuals by showing tangible results.

2. Personal Relevance and Empowerment

Connect Personally: Help individuals see how a Culture of Peace can positively affect their own lives and communities. When people understand the personal benefits, they are more likely to get involved.

Empower Action: Provide tools and resources that enable individuals to contribute effectively. This includes training in conflict resolution, communication skills, and peace-building techniques.

3. Community Engagement

Foster Community Spirit: Encourage a sense of community and collective responsibility. Create spaces for dialogue and collaboration where people can come together to work on peace-building projects.

Local Initiatives: Support local peace initiatives that address specific community needs and concerns. People are more motivated to participate when they see direct impacts in their immediate environment.

4. Incentives and Recognition

Recognize Contributions: Acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of individuals and groups involved in peace-building. Recognition can be in the form of awards, public appreciation, or media coverage.

Provide Incentives: Offer tangible incentives, such as grants, scholarships, or career opportunities, for those who actively contribute to peace-building activities.

5. Leadership and Role Models

Leverage Influential Figures: Engage community leaders, celebrities, and respected figures to advocate for a Culture of Peace. Their influence can motivate others to follow suit.

Develop Role Models: Highlight individuals who exemplify peace-building values and practices. Role models can inspire others to emulate their behavior.

6. Collaborative Networks

Build Partnerships: Establish networks and partnerships with organizations, schools, businesses, and other entities to promote a Culture of Peace. Collaborative efforts can amplify impact and reach.

Facilitate Dialogue: Create forums for open dialogue where different groups can share perspectives, address conflicts, and find common ground.

7. Inclusive and Diverse Approaches

Promote Inclusivity: Ensure that peace-building efforts are inclusive and consider the perspectives of diverse groups, including marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Cultural Sensitivity: Respect and incorporate cultural differences in peace-building strategies. Tailor approaches to fit the cultural context of the target audience.

8. Sustainable Practices

Long-term Commitment: Encourage long-term engagement by demonstrating the ongoing need for peace-building efforts. Emphasize that building a Culture of Peace is a continuous process.

Measure Impact: Track and communicate the impact of peace-building activities. Showing measurable progress can sustain motivation and support.

Conclusion

By combining education, personal relevance, community engagement, incentives, leadership, collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability, individuals can be effectively motivated to participate in building a Culture of Peace. Each strategy should be tailored to the specific audience and context to maximize its effectiveness.

blog coordinator on said:

Thank you, Joe,

This reply from artificial intelligence not only confirms the details of our proposal, but also adds several further details:

1. Need to reward best efforts and recognize role models;

2. Need to publicize celebrities and leaders who take part (although in the beginning the effort should be simply from the grass roots without the impression that it is top-down);

3. Need to encourage long-term commitment (that can be done by regularly re-contacting participants to ask how they are continuing their engagement);

4. Need to measure impact as the project develops.

_________________________________________________

Dr. David Adams is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment and coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the UN International Year for the Culture of Peace.  Previously, at Yale and Wesleyan Universities, he was a specialist on the brain mechanisms of aggressive behavior, the history of the culture of war, and the psychology of peace activists, and he helped to develop and publicize the Seville Statement on Violence. Send him an email.

Go to Original – decade-culture-of-peace.org


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