Culture of Peace
At the eve of a new millennium, a proliferation of regional, local, ethnic, religious and civil conflicts and terrorism around the world emphasizes the need for a global transition from a culture of war to a culture of peace. However, peace is more than the absence of war. Peace demands an enduring commitment to sharing a country’s assets, while transcending particular and localized interest. While it is essential to cooperate with civil society in putting a culture of peace in place, governments must take the lead.
The Manifesto 2000 Pledge
Recognising my share of responsibility for the future of humanity, especially for today's children and those of future generations, we pledge to:
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“Respect all life.” Respect the life and dignity of each human being without discrimination and prejudice. |
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“Reject violence.” Practice active non-violence, rejecting violence in all its forms: physical, sexual, psychological, economical and social, in particular towards the most deprived and vulnerable such as children and adolescents. |
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“Share with others.” Share my time and material resources in a spirit of generosity to put an end to exclusion, injustice and political and economic oppression. |
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“Listen to understand.” Defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, giving preference always to dialogue and listening without engaging in fanaticism, defamation and the rejection of others. |
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“Preserve the planet.” Promote consumer behaviour that is responsible and development practices that respect all forms of life and preserve the balance of nature on the planet. |
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“Rediscover solidarity.” Contribute to the development of my community, with the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, in order to create together new forms of solidarity. |
These six priorities show us that the culture of peace spirals outward, that it is a way of doing things that propagates to all levels. It begins within oneself and the home, spreads out to the community, then on to the regional, national and international levels. Cultivating peace is like cultivating plants in that they both take root and grow.
SUNFO has organised islandwide Peace Seminars, Journey of Friendship from South to North, Signing Peace Decade and many more activities over the years. These details will be uploaded shortly !!
Peace Boat
(Building a Culture of Peace Around the World)
Arriving to Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka on August 3,2011
Peace Boart will be departing Japan on July 19th, visiting more than 20 ports during its 101 days of travelling.
Peace Boat will be arriving at the port of Colombo at 7am on August
3rd and will depart at 10pm the same day.
Peace Boat which started in Japan in 1983.
and its main activity is to organize global voyages on a passengers cruise
ship and to sail around the world to make the world a peaceful and sustainable place through person to person encounter.
So far Peace Boart has organized more than 70 voyages and carried more than 40,000 people.
The upcoming voyage that visits Colombo on August 3rd will have
about 1000 Peace delegates onboard. They will be joining various study
tours and sightseeing tours in Colombo.
Being an active member of GCAP Japan, MDGs has been one of their major themes.
Peace Boat has carried out a number of programmes to raise awareness and to
call for a major step for the a Peace Boat has long been involved in local and global initiatives to eradicate poverty in the world - particularly in recent years towards the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Notably, in 2009, Peace Boat launched its MDGs Campaign, in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP-Japan) to raise awareness about the MDGs and the role of civil society in achieving these goals, carrying out MDGs Training Program designed to develop an understanding of the challenges faced in eradicating poverty and promote activism for achieving the MDGs, and inviting students and young activists from Africa and Latin America to discuss development issues onboard. Symbolizing the strength of the collaboration between Peace Boat and the United Nations, the UNMC's logo "End Poverty 2015" is painted on the body of the Peace Boat.
Peace Boat is hoping to hold a photo exhibition in Colombo so that it can be used as
an opportunity to make a strong appeal.
Some reports of past MDGs related programmes of Peace Boat:
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/68/spe/100128/index.html
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/68/lob/100118/index.html
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/67/spe/091023/index.html
GCAP- Sri Lanka, hosted by SUNFO (Sri Lanka-United Nations Friendship Organisation) and several others are supporting the Peace Boat Mission to Colombo, Sri Lanka on August 3.
We are planning to hand over “ South Asian Peace Youth Camp -2011 ” banner to Peace Boat (www.sunfosrilanka.org) and also to declare the “South Asian Peace Youth Camp Logo “ coincide with the arrival of Peace Boart to Sri Lanka on Aug 3 .
Global University is an intensive peace and sustainability studies programme for participants onboard, combining advanced study of selected topics onboard the ship with exposure programmes in various countries. Our goal during each voyage is to provide participants with the insight and skills necessary to play an active role in education, activism and peace-building activities at the grass-roots level in Japan and internationally. The programme is guided by special guest educators and specialists from Japan and many countries around the world. Among the wide-ranging topics of study are the conflicts in Israel/Palestine, the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland; globalization; media literacy; HIV/AIDS with a focus on Africa; and climate change as it affects South Pacific Island states.
In order to achieve a sustainable world with a global culture whose values reflect a genuine desire for peace and a rejection of violence, Peace Boat believes that it is of paramount importance to make what we call education for peace and sustainability an integral part of our collective learning. In practice, this means making peace education for a sustainable world more accessible to a wider audience, and acknowledging its teaching as a legitimate discipline in the formal educational system. Growing recognition of the value of this is evident in the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education and the 1994 launch of UNESCO's Educating for a Sustainable Future. Further, the United Nations declared the Year 2000 as the International Year for a Culture of Peace and “ 2001-2010 is being designated as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World
Links of some past Peace Boart supported Tsunami and other Programmes in Sri Lanka.
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/56/spe/070315/index.html
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/56/spe/070318/index.html
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/53/poc/sril/index.html
http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/53/lob/060417/index.html
Welcome the PEACE BOAT to Sri Lanka !
Global Call to Action Against Poverty-GCAP Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka-United Nations Friendship Organisation (SUNFO)
SUNFO Youth Congress-Java Youth Force Collaboration
MDG Youth Forum in Sri Lanka and Networks
