Creators of Peace

The Creators of Peace (CoP) initiative was launched in 1991 at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, Switzerland by the Hon. Anna Abdallah Msekwa of Tanzania, a respected politician and leader of her country’s women’s organizations. In her inaugural speech, she urged everyone to “create peace wherever we are, in our hearts, our homes, our workplace and our community. We all pretend that someone else is the stumbling block…Could that someone be myself?”

CoP is now a global network of people working on different continents through Creators of Peace Circles, workshops, personal encounters, community building activities and international conferences.

In Africa, CoP continues to spread to many countries and is so far active in South Africa, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania among others.

Aims

• To engage women in their role as creators of peace at every level of society
• To promote a change of heart, starting with oneself, as a primary tool of peace creation
• To pre-empt violence and despair by addressing the roots of conflict in and around us
• To encourage and connect existing ’peace builders’
• To raise awareness of the moral and spiritual pre-requisites for effective social action
• To build just, caring and inclusive communities for all

What we do

‘None of us lacks the vision for peace, what we often lack is the first step in action’ says Yukika Sohma, Pioneer of a Japanese initiative to care for refugees. 

Creators of Peace action includes:

• Providing a transformative space for interpersonal, inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogues based on the sharing of personal experience and information in a variety of forums, around conference tables, boardroom tables and kitchen tables.
• Promotion of Creators of Peace Circles- small community gatherings of women who together work through material designed to deepen their friendships and understanding of their peace creating capabilities.
• Workshops that increase the peace building skills of women in civil society. These include addressing the personal, moral and spiritual values needed for ethical leadership and sustainable action.
• The practice of deep reflection and inner listening to the voice of truth, or God, as a source of inspiration.
• Locally based initiatives that bring people together in community building activities.

The Outcomes sought 

• People empowered to play an effective role in national peace building.
• Friendships fostered in a spirit of trust, respect and new understanding.
• Issues with a potential for conflict in the community identified and a resolve reached to take common action by taking peace building initiatives.
• A network of people built around the world, ready to pass on their peace-making and leadership skills in their communities and countries.
• A tolerance built on care and love that fully appreciates the religions and faiths of all others and removes obstacles to working together. 

If you are interested in Creators of Peace in your area, find contact details below:

South Africa:
Portia Mosia: Email

Cleopadia Mohlaodi: Email      

Kenya:
Ann Njeri: Email

Uganda:
Dorothy Tingu: Email

Rwanda:
Didacienne Mukahabeshimana: Email

Nigeria:
Benedicta ngozi Opara: Email

Cameroon:
Adalbert Ottou: Email

Burundi:
Daphrose Ntarataze: Email

South Sudan:
Regina Joseph Kapa: Email

CoP International:
Trish McDonald-Harrison: Email

For more information and news, kindly visit the Creators of Peace website