The Non-Violence Project Foundation (NVP) is a
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
whose mission is to inspire, motivate, and engage young people on how to solve conflicts peacefully. It holds violence prevention and
nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
education programs for schools and sports clubs around the world.
The Non-Violence Project Foundation, which was registered in 1993 in
Bagnes, Switzerland, and has currently offices in 11 countries around the world. Its logo is the iconic Knotted Gun sculpture named ''
Non-Violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
''. It has educated eight million students, teachers, and sports coaches with programs covering three main subjects: conflict management, self-esteem building, and nonviolence.
Sir Paul McCartney,
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
and
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
are, among others, ambassadors of the Non-Violence Project.
The symbol
The Non-Violence Project Foundation's signature logo is the ''
Non-Violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
'' sculpture, also known as the ''Knotted Gun''. It was created by Swedish artist
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (4 June 1934 – 3 May 2016) was a Swedish painter and sculptor.
He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm 1965–1969. In 1974 he was a guest ...
as a memorial tribute to
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
after he was shot and killed on December 8, 1980, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. One of the three original bronze sculptures is displayed at the
United Nations headquarters
zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas
, image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg
, im ...
in New York City, the ''Knotted Gun'' has become a worldwide symbol of the non-violence movement. Several replicas of this sculpture can be found around the world, including the
Olympic Museum
The Olympic Museum (french: Musée olympique) in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 artifacts, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the ...
in Lausanne, at
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town and in the
Chaoyang Park
Chaoyang Park () is a park located on the site of the former Prince's Palace in Beijing's Chaoyang District.
The park's construction began in 1984 and it became Beijing's largest park. It is approximately 2.8 km in length and approximately 1.5 ...
in Beijing, China.
History
Establishment
The Non-Violence Project Foundation was born with the idea to use
non-violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
to inspire, motivate and engage the young community in positive action and give them the tools and skills to solve conflicts peacefully. In 1993, Jan Hellman and Rolf Skjöldebrand founded the Non-Violence Project. They believed that the best way to achieve the non-violence mission was to convince schools and sports clubs to include violence prevention and life skills programs into their basic education schedule.
The Non-Violence Project Foundation's concept was first piloted in Sweden with great success. NVP invited the business community to partner in their endeavor and toured roughly 100 cities, spreading the non-violence message. A year later, NVP had reached 100,000 students and initiated 300 local projects in Sweden. In 1995, a crowd of people gathered at the Sergel's Square in central Stockholm, lighting candles in the shape of the Knotted Gun. Several celebrities participated at the event, such as model
Emma Wiklund
Emma Wiklund (née Sjöberg; 13 September 1968) is a Sweden, Swedish fashion model and actress. She appeared on several covers of ''Elle (magazine), Elle'' magazine and in the 1992 George Michael music video for "Too Funky". Her acting roles ...
, singer
Siw Malmkvist,
Lill-Babs
Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. ...
and the actress
Lena Olin
Lena Maria Jonna Olin (; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Mentored by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, she made her screen d ...
. The television host
Kristin Kaspersen organized the event.
Worldwide development

Over the years, NVP has increased its international activities from 10 to 31 countries on five continents around the world including the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
,
Japan,
China,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
,
Sweden,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
,
Guatemala,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...
,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
,
Kenya
)
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. The headquarters are in
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...
.
In 2008, the first Knot Violence Campaign was launched in
Portsmouth, United Kingdom, with the support of England soccer goalkeeper
David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to:
Performers
*David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre
*David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...
and the presence of local pupils. The campaign helped to introduce the Non-Violence Creativity Program into local schools. The initiative was an arts-based education program whose main tool was the Non-Violence Box. The box includes a violence prevention module as well as a one-meter fiberglass replica of the Knotted Gun. Students, teachers and sports coaches are challenged to give their interpretation of the symbol and of what it communicates. David James has worked closely with pupils from City of Portsmouth Boys' School to help them paint their own knotted gun sculptures. He also did his own interpretation which is displayed outside the
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history.
The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect Ar ...
stadium in Portsmouth.
During the 2010
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...
in South Africa, under the campaign theme "Futbol For Peace" and in close cooperation with the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
and
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
Education Departments, NVP engaged several prominent football players such as the Italian goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded ...
, German captain
Michael Ballack,
Wilson Palacios from Honduras,
Alex Song
Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong (born 9 September 1987), better known as Alex Song, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Djiboutian side Arta/Solar7 as a central or defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender.
...
from Cameroon,
Aaron Mokoena from South Africa and football legend
Gus Poyet to paint and interpret the Non-Violence symbol. This became an exhibition at the Waterfront in Cape Town. The painted sculptures communicated a global vision of peace and non-violence and created awareness of the education programs which took place at several youth hubs and schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The campaign included daily football tournaments, violence prevention education, life skills training and a "Train the Trainer" program to secure continuity after the World Cup. In 2011, Gianluigi Buffon donated his self-designed Non-Violence sculpture to former South African President
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
on
Mandela Day, July 18, in recognition of his lifelong work to bring peace and non-violence in South Africa and the world.
Education initiatives
NVP has educated and trained more than eight million students, teachers and sports coaches around the world. The NVP programs provide tools for schools and sports clubs to get started. The programs which cover three main subjects - conflict management, self-esteem building, and violence prevention - are constructed to inspire, motivate and engage teachers and students to increase their knowledge of how violence emerges, why conflicts escalate, the importance of a strong self-esteem, and the nonviolent keys to resolve conflicts in a peaceful way. The same approach is used to address the sports community. NVP focus on issues of non-violence, peace, youth participation, interactive exercises, life skills and community development.
The Train the Trainer Program works with teachers and sports coaches. The program attempts to give future trainers the competence and tools to implement the Non-Violence Project education model into their respective schools and sports clubs.
A pilot program has been done at the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
, in Scotland and at the UNAM (
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...
), in
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
. The project NVP St Andrews was launched on October 3, 2012 at the University of St Andrews in presence of the golfer
Dustin Johnson.
University of Tsukuba
is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project.
The university has 28 colle ...
in
Japan started official education in 2018. The project equips university students with the tools to go out into their local communities and inspire conflict resolution and promote non-violence in schools and on playing fields.
Imagine One Billion Faces For Peace (IOBFFP)
The Non-Violence Project launched a call for peace and non-violence online to honor the legacy of John Lennon and to strengthen the outreach of NVP education programs.
The Non-Violence Tour
The Tour, featuring fiberglass Non-Violence sculptures interpreted and painted by children from throughout the world and by internationally renowned role models within sports, music and art, are displayed in cities around the world. The Tour promotes the presence of the Non-Violence Symbol and secures local distribution of the NVP education programs to schools and sports clubs. The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated;
"The Non-Violence Symbol has not only endowed the United Nations with a cherished work of art; it has enriched the consciousness of humanity with a powerful symbol. It is a symbol that encapsulates, in a few simple curves, the greatest prayer of man: that which asks not for victory, but for peace".
Ambassadors
*Artist and peace activist
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
*The Beatles members:
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
and
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
*Football players:
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
,
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded ...
,
David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to:
Performers
*David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre
*David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...
,
Michael Ballack,
Aaron Mokoena,
Gus Poyet,
Alexandre Song
Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong (born 9 September 1987), better known as Alex Song, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Djiboutian side Arta/Solar7 as a central or defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender. ...
,
Wilson Palacios and
Didier Zokora
*Tennis player
Robin Söderling
*Singers:
Wei Wei,
Anahí
Anahí Giovanna Puente Portilla (born 14 May 1983), known mononymously as Anahí, is a Mexican actress and singer. In 1986, she started her acting career when she was cast on '' Chiquilladas''. After working on many successful telenovelas pro ...
,
Derrick Green,
Vazquez Sounds
*Boxer
Amir Khan
*Golfer
Dustin Johnson
*Artists:
Ernst Billgren, Gregory Fink and Patricia Magano
Regional NVP organizations
During the last 20 years, NVP settled regional offices in 17 countries around the world including the USA, the UK, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, Uganda, South Africa, Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Tanzania, the Bahamas, Liberia, Kenya and Italy. Since 2017, the headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
Non Violence Project Foundation India (NVPF India) is the India chapter of The Non-Violence Project Foundation. The mission is to inspire, engage and motivate young people towards peace, sustainability, non violence and make this world a better place to live in.
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
*
List of anti-war organizations
In order to facilitate organized, determined, and principled opposition to the wars, people have often founded anti-war organizations. These groups range from temporary coalitions which address one war or pending war, to more permanent structured ...
References
External links
The Non-Violence Projectwebsite
NVP Facebook pageNVP first public awareness videoNVPF India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Violence Project
International educational organizations
Organizations established in 1993
Nonviolence organisations based in Switzerland
Non-profit organisations based in Switzerland