The Vision/Mission topic (#2 below) has already been determined, and we’ll launch a community conversation about Principles via email in March. Feel free to comment here, as well, if you wish.

Team Members:

• Oliver Rizzi Carlson: oliver8@hotmail.com
• Irving Rappaport: irving@meetingofminds.co.uk
• Simonetta Costanzo: npnovaspain@hotmail.com
• Eryl Court: ekort@sympatico.ca
• Kazuhiro Imamura, imamurak@gol.com
• Robyn Hennings, robyn14@mac.com
• Paul van Tongeren, p.vantongeren@conflict-prevention.net
• Rita Marie Johnson, ritamarie@rasurfoundation.org
• Sigrid Rich, sigridrich@hotmail.com

Action Task	Persons Responsible	Target Completion Date
Send DNA to GA members and ask for feedback, explaining the process we went through to date and the next steps to be taken.	Oliver and Irving	September 25th
Receive feedback from GA members	GA Members	Target Completion Date: 20 Oct. 2009
Process feedback and publish final DNA	Oliver with help from Simonetta	30 Nov. 2009




DNA of the GA

(29 Nov. 2009)

Introduction/Description

The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments for Peace is a worldwide community of dedicated individuals, civil society organizations and campaigns supporting their governments and societies to significantly invest in the development of infrastructure dedicated to the peaceful resolution, transformation and prevention of violent conflict in its direct, structural and cultural forms.

Vision

A world where all people, individually and collectively, embody, promote, and practice a culture of peace for the benefit of all.

Mission

To collaborate with and support governments and civil society around the world working to establish national ministries and departments of peace, and also to support efforts to develop local, regional, and national peace councils, peace academies, and other effective infrastructures for peace.

Principles

The following principles are meant as operative criteria to be used when engaging in processes of the Global Alliance, including conflictual ones, in order to transform them into a positive, creative force for the fulfillment of the GA’s Mission.

1. Integrity
We commit to acting always in accordance with our principles.

2. Modeling a Culture of Peace
We commit to living our Vision by being peace and striving for self-transformation. We take responsibility for being peaceful, for peaceful outcomes, and consider peacefulness as humanity’s imperative.

3. Educating for Peace
We believe in the value of educating for peace and the crucial importance of having an educational approach in the creation of a Culture of Peace.

4. Nonviolence and Harmlessness
We pledge to act according to the principles of nonviolence and harmlessness in all our interactions. We subscribe to the practice of Nonviolent Communication to make empathizing with ourselves and others a priority and a foundational element of our communication. We thus resolve to respond to and connect with others on the level of their basic human needs. We trust others to also have intentions of nonviolence and harmlessness and strive to be open with each other, offering and receiving feedback kindly and without personal attachment.

5. Cultural Sensitivity and Solidarity
We are determined to recognize the legitimacy of others’ expressions and needs, to listen receptively and be respectful of ourselves and others in all ways. We seek to work with loving understanding and a conscious realization of how we impact others around us. We understand the wisdom inherent in valuing solidarity.

6. Inclusiveness, Active Participation and Empowerment
We strive to promote cooperation in all our interactions, engaging with and empowering all stakeholders for the transformation of conflict. We maintain an attitude of personal contribution while at the same time supporting others as we work together on behalf of the common good. We strive to build consensus.

7. Trusting People and Processes and Sharing Leadership
We believe the people we interact with and the processes we become a part of have a reason to be and we confide in their wisdom. Recognizing each person’s innate leadership, we honor it in ourselves as each one of us leads in her or his area of responsibility while supporting the leadership of others. We trust in sharing responsibility and sharing leadership.

8. Creativity, Flexibility and Sense of Possibility:
We value being imaginative and creative in engaging with conflict. We consider a sense of possibility, being versatile and flexible to be important in order to maximize our capacity to transform ourselves and conflict around us.

9. Holistic and Systemic Thinking
We acknowledge that we live in a world of interconnection and we strive to realize the whole in our relationships and our work. We are aware of systemic dynamics and we commit to make conscious use of them. We determine to have a multidimensional and multidirectional peacebuilding approach: one that does not only reactively reconstruct pre-existing systems but proactively devises and develops new ones; one that does not only seek to address structural violence but also its underlying cultural foundation.

10. Goodwill and Respect for All Life
We realize the central importance of goodwill in creating lasting peace. We determine to practice goodwill in our relationships with all beings on Earth, human and otherwise, and our shared natural systems. We commit to sharing generously and considering sustainability. We seek to consciously create a rhythm in our work that supports life individually, as a group, for our projects and its global stakeholders. We understand the healing power of goodwill and recognize mutual healing as a key to conflict transformation. We therefore strive to develop healthy relationships and enhance the healing capacity of humanity.

11. Internal Support and Coherence
We recognize the crucial importance of affiliated national and regional organizations and infrastructures for the existence and work of the Global Alliance. We hold members of the Global Alliance to the same standards outlined in these Principles.

12. Clarity of Purpose and Belief
We maintain our focus as we strive for clarity and the practical application of our energies toward our vision. We have clear areas of responsibility and accountability. We establish clear procedures for decision-making and effective work processes. We have a firm belief in the deep value of our work and in its ultimate achievement.

13. Fun!
We resolve to allow our work to be fun and carry the positive energy we or it may need in order to be fulfilled.