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The International Year for the Culture of Peace was designated by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
as the year 2000, with the aim of celebrating and encouraging a culture of
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
.


Origins

Since 1959 the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
has designated specific years to emphasize issues which are part of the mission of the organization. The International Year for the Culture of Peace was proclaimed in a
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
resolution in 1997 on the basis of an Economic and Social Council resolution. The General Assembly invited a Declaration and Programme of Action from UNESCO and adopted it after ten months of difficult negotiation.


The IYCP Taskforce

The lead organization for the International Year was
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
. There was a logic to this, in that UNESCO is the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
organization dealing with education, and also in that the constitutional mandate of UNESCO involves the encouragement of a global culture of peace. Within the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris, a specific International Year for the Culture of Peace Taskforce was established from 1998 to 2000, with the aim of co-ordinating the activities to publicize the International Year. Members of the Taskforce included:
David Adams David Adams Musical Theatre Performer Starlight Express, Avenue Q, Les Miserables, Government officials * David S. Adams (State Department) (born 1961), Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs * David Adams (Labour politician) (1 ...
(Chair), Enzo Fazzino, Katherine Stoessel, Di Bretherton, Zeynep Varoglu and Jan Visser.


International Year Strategies and Results

The strategies behind the International Year centred upon involving civil society as much as possible. The specific initiatives included the collection of some 75 million signatures worldwide in support of a culture of peace, with the Manifesto 2000 Project. Another initiative was the
Culture of Peace News Network The Culture of Peace News Network is a United Nations authorized interactive online network, committed to supporting the global movement for a culture of peace and nonviolence. The network commenced under the auspices of UNESCO, as part of the Int ...
, otherwise known as the CPNN, a web-based news service reporting news in support of a culture of peace. An extensive description of the results obtained during the International Year was published by UNESCO.


Assessment of the International Year

Opinion is divided as to how effective the International Year was. It is possible to argue that there was much rhetoric in the International Year, and yet often the impact of such events can only be discerned many years later.


Ongoing Commitment of the United Nations

The work of supporting and encouraging a culture of peace continues through the
International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the first decade of the 21st century and the third millennium, the years 2001 to 2010, as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. This followed ...
, and the ongoing
Culture of Peace News Network The Culture of Peace News Network is a United Nations authorized interactive online network, committed to supporting the global movement for a culture of peace and nonviolence. The network commenced under the auspices of UNESCO, as part of the Int ...
.


See also

*
The Ribbon International The Ribbon International is a United Nations non-governmental organization that created a large decorated cloth promoting nuclear disarmament and care and protection of the earth. In an event held on August 4, 1985, panels were connected in an l ...


References


External links


Adams, David (2003) 'Early History of the Culture of Peace: A Personal Memoire'Page, James S. (2001) 'The International Year for the Culture of Peace: Was It Worthwhile?'. ''International Journal of Cultural Studies''. 4(3): 348-351Culture of Peace News Network
{{UN International Years Peace, International Year for the Culture of 2000 in international relations United Nations peacekeeping