On September 8, Dr. Nava Sonnenschein, Director of the School for Peace, participated in the Global Peacebuilders Summit in Germany, for the second time in a row, representing the School for Peace. The Global Peacebuilders Summit started as an initiative aiming to bring together peacebuilders from all over the world for a face to face work meeting dealing with the peace process. In addition, it aims to create a global network of leaders interested in global discourse about the role of civil society organizations in the peace process. This year, the second year GPS meets, 35 participants attended from various conflict zones and countries, including: Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Manipur in northeast India, Northern Ireland, Belarus, Palestine, Israel, Somalia, Sri Lanka, German, USA, Burundi, Indonesia, Philippines, and more. The Global Peacebuilders Summits are funded by the Germany foreign affairs office and take place in the scenic village of Paretz near Berlin.

 

Here is what Nava wrote about her experience in the summit:

We met this year in the village of Paretz nearby Berlin for six full days. Meeting the colleagues once again to share experiences and set the goals, values, and tasks of this forum, was very emotional. This time we had the chance to deepen our friendship and discussions because the group members deal with many of the same issues: trauma, oppression of minorities, violations of human rights, violations of freedoms, and violations of women’s rights. Among the group members are activists dealing with ongoing conflicts, as in our case, and members dealing with post-conflict situations, as in the case of Rwanda and Northern Ireland. It was very interesting to learn from the experience of colleagues who are dealing with the challenges of post-conflict in their own countries.

We decided this year to take more responsibility and to create a steering committee that will be a partner in creating the program for the next GPS. In addition we set forth the goals of our forum: to provide a safe and healing space for local peacebuilders, to provide a platform for shared learning, sharing experiences, empowering marginalized voices, and to raise the next generation of peacebuilders for the sake of world peace and justice.

 

The Global Peacebuilders Network includes key leaders from civil society organizations who are working to end conflicts in different areas around the world and to create a sustainable peace in their countries. The mission the GPN is to build peaceful communities by using innovative, inclusive, and local models. Through a systemic approach for peacebuilding, an approach that recognizes the complexity of modern conflicts, and an approach that connects the multiple sectors working for peace, as well as by making strong linkages between the local, national, regional, and global levels working for peace, the GPN creates a stronger voice for a just and peaceful world.