Peace in action
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Peace in Action (PIA) is a network of today’s generation peace and development activists, academics, practitioners and other individuals from diverse walks of life. PIA participants actively face the challenges of our world in crises! PIA aims to motivate and mobilize individuals to take action, and to create momentum in building cultures of peace. Members of PIA are actively involved in projects that raise awareness about the importance of citizen action through community and cultural events, projects, workshops, trainings and independent consulting. PIA aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the areas of peacebuiling, development and conflict transformation, and stresses the principles of creativity, collaboration and action.
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[edit] History
The creation of Peace in Action was initially realized by now alumni of the UNESCO Masters Program of Peace and Development Studies in Castellòn, Spain. At the time when PIA was legally founded as a non-profit organization in summer 2003, the initial group had already developed into a network of interested and active individuals, colleagues and friends from different cultural and professional backgrounds that committed to work on PIA. Today PIA is a vivid international and multicultural network with its virtual home base in the World Wide Web and its current main operational office in Vienna, Austria.
[edit] Aims and means
The following aims and means have been taken directly from the PIA statutes. As you will see, the aims and means have been framed in the broadest sense possible, in order to leave potential for further growth and the development of the PIA network in coming years. Nonetheless, principles such as non-violence, gender balance, creative-approaches etc. have been explicitly incorporated our legal framework and underlying the work we do.
[edit] Aims
Peace in Action is a non-profit organization for public benefit, which is aimed towards:
- The formation of a global network of people and initiatives, which are dedicated to promoting a culture of peace;
- The promotion of a greater understanding of development through empowerment, development work and motivation to discuss development issues;
- To promote intercultural and interdisciplinary exchange;
- To promote dialogical processes and understanding for individual and collective differences;
- To create a vivid connection between science and practice.
[edit] Means
The organization will reach its means by remaining committed to the principles of non-violence, dialogue and diversity. Furthermore, the organization will function independent from political parties and confessions. The following means will be applied:
- The development and promotion of non-violent conflict transformation;
- The creation of conditions of peace and an awareness for active peace organization;
- The development and introduction of new and creative methods in the fields of peace, development and intercultural work;
- The drafting, promotion and execution of educational processes;
- The drafting, promotion and execution of cultural, scientific, artistic-creative, educational and social events;
- Training in the field of transforming community, inter-cultural and international conflicts;
- Consulting in the field of peace and development;
- Providing psychological, socio-pedagogical assistance and counseling in conflict areas;
- The support and application of women specific viewpoints and approaches;
- The active use of public space.
[edit] Statement of Need: World in Crisis - We want Peace!
Peace is a broad notion, and generally invokes positive connotations. The preservation of basic needs for all humans is appreciated by nearly all cultures worldwide, giving us a common interest that transcends borders. Unfortunately, mass suffering in our world has increased astronomically with the augmentation of acts of mass violence, the mind-boggling “innovations” in weapons technology, on-going environmental degradation, and the violent imagery pervading the world’s cultures. Thus, the need for more peaceful conditions is growing (easily agreeable) globally and a visible response is being mounted. Regardless, most people directly or indirectly support the subsistence of direct, structural and cultural violence. At the pace we are going, we are digressing at a catastrophic rate – “the world is in crisis”. As we come to understand the existence and dynamics of a global civil society, we can see that actions for peace are abundant and supported in all the world’s cultures. These actions are now gaining momentum through recognition and synergy. The PIA network is specifically created to further this momentum.
[edit] Peace for PIA is...
- “Peace is what we have when creative conflict transformation takes place non-violently.” (Johan Galtung)
- Peace is a concept which deals with broad matters of persons, the environment, economics, and politics.
- Peace, defined by academics, is the opposite of direct, structural and cultural violence.
- Peace does not abolish conflict!
- Peace is not only the opposite of war
- Peace is a process!
Peacework as understood by PIA is open to a myriad of actors with various aims and means. In this respect, PIA does not give precedence to certain aims or approaches, but instead believes that as long as groups and people are committed to the Gandhian principle of non-violence: the unity of aims and means we can always find common ground. We feel that this enables PIA to authentically affect and direct change at all levels of society (be it directly, structurally or culturally), to raise awareness and to encourage more peace-oriented activities in schools, organizations and communities around the globe. PIA's concept of peace is that of open inclusion of actors and their aims, which are traditionally compartmentalized and separated based on the status quo’s set of values. Thus, these initiatives rarely find themselves operating, interacting and working with one another in collaboration and partnership. PIA aims to do just that and believes that unifying people and processes oriented toward peace, including both formal (institutions, foundations, organizations, governments, etc.) and informal (loosely or non-affiliated actors, social movements, artists, activists, community groups, etc.) actors will allow us and others throughout the world to meet our desired goal-PEACE! We need many "peaces"!
