What can we do to make tomorrow a better place for all?

Governments all over the world cannot keep up with the growing demand for health, education, training, safety and security – the fundamental rights of all human beings. 
What practical steps can be taken to ensure that it is not only the wealthy nations and communities that benefit from development?  World-wide, the resources to address the needs of all people are lacking.

In the mid 1990s the Community Peace Programme, believing that all human beings have the knowledge and the ability to manage their own environment, responded to this challenge.  A system of action was implemented which involved poor community members gathering together in a facilitative environment to resolve disputes and agree on workable and effective plans of future-orientated action. 

Over more than a decade, the Community Peace Programme has built a widely replicable model of local governance, centered on the activities of a network of “Peace Committees” in 180 sites across South Africa.  In addition to facilitating PeaceMaking and PeaceBuilding initiatives, the programme is  responsible for documenting, analysing and reflecting critically over processes and practices.  The results are circulated to a variety of audiences.  The programme has reached further a field than South Africa.  The model has been adopted in Argentina, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Uganda to date.

Factors contributing to the success of the Peace Committee Model are an average dispute resolution time of three days and a 99% success rate in finding a solution.   Peace Committees have therefore become a valuable resource in the communities they serve.

The Community Peace Programme has developed a reputable model of conflict resolution with international recognition.  At the Dubai International Awards for Best Practices, the Community Peace Programme was selected as one of the 100 Best Practices for 2008.