♪ First People’s Summit for Departments of Peace – London, October 19th 2005 ♪ - 8 min 51 sec - 2.1MB

[Podcast information: Recorded in London, UK, on Oct 19th, 2005. Yumi interviewed Dot Maver, Executive Director of The Peace Alliance USA & Diana Basterfield, Co-Founder of the ministry for peace UK at the First People’s Summit for Departments Of Peace]

Here is what we came up with at the end of the 1st International Conference on Departments of Peace in London and I am very happy to share it with you.

Today, we announce the launch of an international initiative for the creation of Departments of Peace in governments throughout the world.

Violence of all kinds is increasing.

There is an urgent need to find responsible solutions, expanding on past and present peace-building successes.

This international initiative will both provide resources and support for existing national Department of Peace campaigns, and assist new ones as they appear in other countries.

While the exact role of the department will differ in each country, its basic functions will be the same.

• To foster a culture of peace;
• To research, articulate and help bring about non-violent solutions to conflicts at all levels; and
• To provide resources for training in peace-building and conflict transformation to people everywhere.

We, the undersigned, joyfully vow to support and encourage each other, to share information, to enrich each other’s experience, to listen to one another and to celebrate our commonalities and differences in our journey together towards a culture of peace.

• Department of Peace, Australia
• Working Group for a Federal Department of Peace, Canada
• Ministry for Peace, United Kingdom
• The Peace Alliance, Campaigning for a US Department of Peace, United States of America
• Delegation from Israel
• Binnie Degli Innocenti, WWGHM, Italy
• Federation of Damanhur, Italy
• Global Peace Campaign, Working for a Ministry of Peace in Japan
• Ank Mesrite, House of Peace, Netherlands
• Paul van Tongeren, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, Netherlands
• Zoughbi Zoughbi, WIAM, Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre, Palestine
• Romanian Department of Peace Initiative
• Jo Berry, Building Bridges for Peace, United Kingdom
• Rolf C Carriere
• Simonetta Costanzo Pittaluga

Some of the members that participated in the First People‘s Summit for Departments of Peace, London
Please go to http://ministryforpeace.org/ to learn more!