A Culture of Peace has eight areas of action, as you can see in the image below.

The United Nations defined this concept as follows: “a set of values, attitudes, behaviors and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflict by addressing its root causes and resolving problems through dialogue and negotiation between individual groups and countries. “

UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) has maintained, since its founding more than 60 years ago, that “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be built.”

The transition from a culture of war to a culture of peace requires the transformation of both individual behavior and institutional practices. Learning to live in peace and harmony is a long process and begins with developing inner peace and nurturing attitudes that promote the expansion and integration of peaceful principles. Education and awareness play a key role in this process.

David Adams designed UNESCO’s Culture of Peace Program in 1992 and was director of the International Year for the Culture of Peace in 1998. UNESCO’s approach was later affirmed by the UN General Assembly in their Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace (A/RES/53/243) in 1999.

The General Assembly also declared the decade 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World.

The concept of a Culture of Peace has now grown into a global movement. The Global Movement for the Culture of Peace (GMCoP) was founded in 2011 by Ambassador Chowdhury (former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN). It is an initiative of civil society and a consortium of UN-NGOs that advocate and network to realize the Culture of Peace at the global, national, regional, as well as societal, community and individual levels.

“Juicy” fact: From 1999 onwards, at the insistence of the European Union, UN resolutions were no longer allowed to mention the culture of war and violence. Notes from the informal meeting of 6 May 1999 read as follows: The German representative, on behalf of the EU … explained why he deleted the expression “rapid transition from a culture of war and violence to a culture of peace”. According to him, there is no culture of war and violence in the world. However, according to David Adams, ignoring the culture of war does not work, as the state is currently more influenced by the culture of war than the culture of peace. He therefore contrasts eight elements of a culture of war and violence with the eight areas of action of a culture of peace. By replacing the key components of the culture of war and violence with the key components of a culture of peace and nonviolence, the culture of war and violence can change. See the diagram below: