The idea behind Peacebuilding is that peace in society and in human relations is not a gift from above. It’s in our hands and minds to build a culture, which promotes peace and the acceptance of differences. Action for Nonviolence and Peacebuilding (ANP) is dedicated to this idea has been working on Peacebuilding in Kosovo since its foundation in 2002.
Peacebuilding for us is a broad term comprising all the other working fields of ANP: Peace Education, Public Policies and Dealing with the Past. ANP is dedicated to implementing the idea of nonviolence in these fields and to actively engaging citizens in building peace.
© Photo by Clyde Robinson via Flickr
Positive Peace
As post-conflict societies are prone to falling back into violence, Kosovo has a palpable need for advanced Peacebuilding. To prevent reoccurrence of violent conflict ANP is actively working to overcome the consequence of war from a civil-society perspective. Human- and Minority Rights are fostered and promoted in schools, institutions and through trainings and workshops.
There are plenty of big Peacebuilding-Players in Kosovo shaping and promoting peace from a top-down level. In our understanding, peace starts in the minds and attitudes of the people and that’s why ANP emphasize this process from the local level. As positive peace cannot be reached only by the right state constitution on paper it’s time to bring the change in our everyday thoughts, acts and decisions.
I will be in Kosovo on November 4 and 5 and 6 and will be meeting with the former President of Kosovo Atifete Jahaga, officials at the American University and the U.S. Embassy about initiating peace-building events. I was in the Balkans during the conflict in the 1990’s, and the region is a focus of my international non-profit — The Lindus Institute.
I would like to schedule a meeting with your group while I am there. Please let me know what day and time you might have available.
Thank you,
Kathleen Agena