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hen in the course of history there is an accumulation of changes which make possible a revolutionary transformation in social relations, the mobilization and participation of people on a vast scale, a global movement, becomes possible through the development and sharing of a common vision of a new world. The time is ripe for such a movement and vision for a culture of peace.
The transformation of society from a culture of war to a culture of peace is perhaps more radical and far reaching than any previous change in human history. Every aspect of social relations - having been shaped for millennia by the dominant culture of war, is open to change - from the relations among nations to those between women and men. Everyone, from the centres of power to the most remote villages, may be engaged and transformed in the process.
As we have indicated in this monograph, organizations at all levels are involved and changing in the process. We have considered many of the most important of these organizational actors, beginning with UNESCO and its Culture of Peace Programme and extending to the United Nations and intergovernmental, governmental and non governmental organizations.
The culture of peace is, at the same time, a process and a vision. As people engage in a common process, their values and attitudes and behaviours grow and come to embrace a global solidarity and common vision. This takes place in the development process, as those who share in projects with others who have been enemies come to share a vision of endogenous, sustainable, equitable development. It occurs in the democratic process, as people participate across the lines of conflict in the making decisions for development and peace. It comes about in the struggles for non-violent alternatives to military action and power, for conversion of economies to peaceful
production, and for preservation of the environment. And it develops in the movements for equity of women, of indigenous peoples, of all who have been denied their full human rights and take up the struggle for justice.
In the vision of a culture of peace, the very process of history itself is transformed. Freed from the culture of war, where history has unfolded on the basis of violent change in a cycle of suppression and explosion, it can move forward without violence. Instead of being determined by the few, the course of history can be determined by the participation of the many. Instead of being determined from the top down, it can be determined by changes and methods which come from the bottom up, beginning at a local level which is tied to a global consciousness. Under these conditions, the determining factor in history can become the social consciousness of the people themselves.
In the movement for a culture of peace there is a task for everyone. Hopefully, this monograph will help to inspire and orient its readers to take action and to link their efforts to those of other individuals and institutions.
UNESCO's Culture of Peace Programme is itself growing and changing in its roles as a catalyst of the movement. Its initial role in developing the concept of a culture of peace is increasingly shared by other institutions at all levels. As a stimulus for the culture of peace at UNESCO, is has now become part of an expanded transdisciplinary project. National programmes which it helped to initiate are taking on a life of their own and may evolve into sub-regional programmes. A new challenge being addressed by the Programme are the key issues of education and communication for a culture of peace in the developed countries where violence is an affliction in urban settings, in the media and in the continued manufacture and export of arms.
In moving from a culture of war to a culture of peace, every aspect of social relations and every person, from the centres of power to the most remote villages, may be engaged and transformed in the process.