World Report on the Culture of Peace
an article by David Adams

How can we know if the culture of peace is advancing? The United Nations has given us an opportunity to find out.

This year is the midpoint of the United Nations International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). The General Assembly has set aside a special debate in its session next fall and has invited the civil society (non-governmental organizations, associations, clubs, schools, universities, city commissions, etc, etc) to provide reports on progress (or lack of progress) that is being made toward a culture of peace and nonviolence everywhere in the world.

I am working with the Fundación Cultura de Paz of Madrid to coordinate preparation of the final report, and every civil society organization is invited to make a contribution. You may submit information for your civil society organization by registering and entering the data directly on the website for the report at http://decade-culture-of-peace.org.

As of the end of February, the mobilization is off to a good start with 50 postings and another 250 organizations registered and preparing their reports. The goal is to have at least a thousand reports by the deadline of April 30. Special mobilizations are getting underway for Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, Canada and Australasia.

If Northfield, Minnesota, is any indication, the US will also contribute its share to the report. Five different but complementary Northfield initiatives have been put on line (see the USA section): United Nations Association-Minnesota; Nobel Peace Prize Forum; Student Pledge Against Gun Violence; Northfield People for Peace and Goodwill; and St. John's Lutheran Church of Northfield.

The Northfield experience shows the nature of progress in the culture of peace, as initiatives can grow from humble beginnings into great movements. Mary Lewis Grow of Northfield, who initiated the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence in 1994, says, "Of course, I wish for the time in which there is no call or need whatsoever for the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. If our violence prevention and peace fostering efforts were to take deep enough root, wouldn't it be lovely if all such initiatives, someday, were to seem but quaint anachronisms?" The Pledge has now been signed by over 10 million young people.

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