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The first project to be implemented provides for national women's radio programmes. This project corresponds to the strategic guidelines which emphasize a national and coordinated approach and which gives priority to those who suffered most from the previous conflict. Women suffered especially, not only from the violence, but also from the economic crisis which followed. Mothers often lack adequate social support as regards legal resources, education, health, nutrition and other basic needs.
Radio - with its largely female audience - has been found to be an effective means of reaching the poorest women, very often illiterate, who are most in need of orientation, information and support. The project, with daily half hour broadcasts, provides information about the services and activities available to women, seeking to increase their awareness of their basic rights and enable them to improve their lives. It should also serve to break down gender stereotypes which have been perpetuated in the past through the media.
Several institutional structures have been created to ensure the participation process by which the radio project has been developed. The UNESCO representative plays an essential facilitative role in the functioning as well as establishment of each institution.
• A National Coordination Council - responsible for definition and policy for the culture of peace programme as a whole. The Council is established by Presidential decree and made up of equal representation at a high level from government and non governmental organizations (NGOs). An Executive Committee of the Council is responsible for direct execution of tasks.
• A Technical Committee - dealing with the substance of each particular project. In the case of the radio project it is composed of representatives of women's NGOs, the radio stations, and the government.
• A Producer's Team - responsible for the production of the radio broadcasts. It is composed of three people each from the women's NGOs, the radio stations and the government.
Keeping in mind that the aim of a culture of peace is to reconcile people and consolidate peace, the radio project has been challenged to maintain a constant process of participation, dialogue and consensus. This naturally takes considerable time and many meetings to resolve the various conflicts among the project actors which arise in the course of their work. Although progress on many aspects of the project is necessarily slow, the decisions, once they are made, are 'owned' and hence supported by all of the participants.
The role of the UNESCO representative has developed during the course of the work on the radio project. From an initial role as arbitrator between conflicting groups, it has progressed to that of mediator, and finally to that of facilitator, making possible the joint accomplishment of the common goal.
The progression - arbitration to mediation to facilitation - illustrates in a concrete way what might be called the 'culture of peace process'. In its long term development the Culture of Peace Programme in El Salvador plans to train 'peace promoters', including actors in the various projects, who are able to play this role of arbitrator/mediator/facilitator, involving all parties to conflicts in the planning and implementation process.
In order to enable those who have been previously in conflict to work together for the benefit of all, the peace promoter functions as arbitrator, mediator and facilitator to transform their relationship from conflict to co operation.