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Whose peace, whose building?
Simon Fisher
October 18, 2008

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Coming of age

Friends, greetings. How wonderful it is to see all these familiar faces, and equally wonderful to see all the new - to me - faces . . . .It is exhilarating to be here and to able spend some time with you, to share ideas and experience and inspirations. And to do so in Nepal, of all places, a country which, in the process of its transition, is gaining much from, and contributing a great deal to, the insights and expertise of peacebuilders, from grassroots to governmental levels. And in this region of the world where the constituency of peacebuilders is growing and becoming stronger all the time. Witness the numbers of us here. Peacebuilding is coming of age, coming to maturity. We can, we will celebrate our growth and development and enjoy our successes. We are going to have fun here. And as is the way with us, we will be looking to the future: we will have lots of bright ideas, share them in myriad conversations, make plans, develop new projects. It is right and necessary to do that. We are busy people with lots to do and never enough time.

In this talk I want to set out briefly and celebrate some of our successes as a community and as a field. I want then to put this in the context of the way the wider world is going, as I see it. And this will lead me to ask some questions, of us all, about where we go from here. All in 45 minutes, or thereabouts. Can you stay with me for that time?

And before I start I need to acknowledge the obvious: that I am an outsider to this region. Please take what I say with a pinch of salt. I am offering my thoughts, based on my experience, in the hope that they will be useful to you, with yours. Lets see if they are.

Before that happens, however, lets pause for a moment. Lets be fully present: to be in the here and now. That is after all the only moment there is. Can I ask you to stop thinking for a moment, close your eyes and simply listen: Be aware of your selves, your thoughts, bodies, the movement and the warm life within. Listen. And now move outwards, to the others in the room. Search for them, stay with them. Now, we are fully present here. It feels good, strong. And now, what about all our colleagues who are not here, but part of our networks and teams? Lets bring them here too, in solidarity. We are many and we are strong. What we do now we do for ourselves, and also for all these who are part of our community.

You know, we could not have done something as ambitious as this 10, or even 5 years ago. We have come a long way in a short time. We have built a lot of peace. (can you say that?). Looking back over the past few years, I wonder what single aspect excites you most about how civil society peacebuilding has developed?

Would you point to the growth of NGOs, for example?

When I started working on peace issues, 25 years ago really, there was, or seemed to be, very little, happening in civil society. Now, there are innumerable organisations working on peace and conflict world-wide.

You might want to single out the countless organisations and groups working within their own societies, doing whatever it takes to reduce violence and develop new ways of working on injustice and conflict. They do reconciliation, mediation, nonviolent action, they campaign, they set up peace zones, you name it - and they often do not, and don-t need to. Thanks to them - you - it has become clear that the big picture cannot be transformed without "bottom-up" changes at community level. Lasting change has to come from within. Nepal is an excellent example of this.

Or you might focus on what I can only call a surge (!) of international agencies: many are working on single issues, such as arms reduction, war children, peace education or trauma healing, peace for one day and so on. Others are running comprehensive, multilevel programmes in hot-spots around the world. Add to them the many development organisations that have taken on aspects of our agenda, especially it seems the "do no harm" approach.

Yes we can make a strong case for NGOs.

Or would you point to the remarkable increase in civil-based movements which have achieved regime change with minimal or no violence. The Philippines, Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia are some examples of the large number where dramatic change has taken place, driven by popular indignation and local organisational skills.- with ifs and buts of course. You might squeeze South Africa in there too, or Nothern Ireland.

Or would you draw attention to the intellectual base? We have so many creative thinkers and writers. There is a mass of universities teaching peace studies and related subjects. And thinktanks. And think of all the methods of participatory analysis and intervention we have devised, all the courses we have run. No need to mention names, but I forgive me if I mention ACTS as one pioneer amongst many.

Or Does mainstreaming get you? Would you emphasise the way much of our thinking has been taken up into government, mainly "western" policies. Do No Harm has been a big hit there. Would you prioritise, at UN level, the Peacebuilding Commission which is potentially a crucial channel for the voice of global civil society to reach into global intergovernmental thinking.

Or is it our networks which get you most excited? No need to mention names . . . except perhaps Action Asia, which itself is part of the global Action for Conflict Transformation with fellow regional networks in Africa, Central and South America.

Or would you point to them all, and more besides. You never know with peace workers. Very contrary people.

There are so many examples, here and elsewhere of the way in which people are organising and intervening effectively for peace. We will surely learn much and celebrate the achievements of Nepalese civil society in helping bring about the peace we have here now. We could talk and sing of CCP in Kenya which held the nation when the politicians were locked in combat both verbal and, for their followers, physical and helped it through to the relative peace they have now. "Politicians peace" they call it there I hope there will be time for these stories to be told here.

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