In February 2010, Russel Balenger looked outside his window and saw trees beginning to bud. Instead of the promise of spring, however, the warmer weather prompted a sobering thought: "The shooting is going to start again." Russel and his wife, Sarah, had seen their grandchildren caught up in the violence plaguing their neighborhood and wanted to find ways to interrupt the cycles of violence and incarceration that affected too many young men of color. They decided it had to stop.

Over the next week, the Balengers invited members of six neighborhood families-all of whom had been touched by interfamilial and gang-related violence-to sit together in circle in a neutral location. The group met in the Center Room at Unity Church Unitarian. The Center Room offers not only comfortable seating and privacy, but also a lack of windows to the street-an architectural feature that made participants feel safer than they would have otherwise. The Balengers asked families and youth to commit to four Monday evenings, after which participants might go their separate ways should they make no progress.

Through facilitated conversation held over supper, circle participants built relationships that opened pathways for addressing entrenched conflicts. Those circles continued beyond the four Mondays, and everything changed. Thus, from these humble beginnings, The Circle of Peace Movement (TCOPM) was born. Eight years later, TCOPM is a proven-effective community-based response to ending violence. Russel continues to facilitate community circles at Unity Church-Unitarian, and those circles have changed the face of the community - violence has decreased, fewer youth have been involved in the criminal justice system, and TCOPM has grown beyond its neighborhood boundaries to positively impact the lives of thousands. Today, more than 500 community circles have been held, with involvement from family members and friends of individuals engaged in violence, neighbors, and youth in juvenile corrections facilities, plus law enforcement, criminal justice, and social service professionals. 

The Community Circle has spawned new circles to serve diverse communities with a compelling need for racial healing and a desire to end violence, and TCOPM now has a presence in 11 African countries. By encouraging people to take the risk of engaging fully in the work of restorative justice, TCOPM leverages that human connection into hands-on, hearts-in solutions.

With roots in Beloved Community and restorative practices, TCOPM demonstrates the power of authentic dialogue to shape perceptions, foster relationship across differences, and create real and positive change. And now TCOPM is recognized as a vital, viable, and cost-effective alternative to punitive criminal justice measures that do not create peace, promote unity, or restore justice. While circle process is a means to an end, it's fostering of relationships across racial and cultural barriers presents unique opportunities for members to come together in unified coalitions to promote systems change and to act on behalf of peace and justice for all.

 With a focus on youth, as well as adults, TCOPM circles have included youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system. This will be the third year that TCOPM takes youth in the juvenile justice system, along with community members and representatives of the system, to Washington DC. These trips have been life-changing for the youth, many of whom have not traveled beyond their community. Their reflections of their experience and what it has taught them, have been extremely valuable for other circle participants. The Washington DC trips provide opportunities to connect youth with their cultural roots, share their stories, and be in conversation with political leaders. This year the trip will include a visit to the brand new Peace Officers museum and the African American Museum of history and culture.

In addition , TCOPM has been host to 25 young African leaders from 11 different countries in the Mandela Fellows Program.  "The young African leaders from the Mandela Fellows Program continue to be a source of inspiration for Sarah and me. They've taken their circle experience and extraordinary leadership back to their home countries, and as a result, circles of reparations and reconciliation are in 11 different African countries ." - Russel Balenger, TCOPM

TCOPM has modeled how restorative practices and circle process can bring people together, heal racial divides, and restore authentic justice. When asked about what he wishes to share with others, Russel responded by saying,  "It's important to continue to fight for justice so that we can all experience real peace. All of us suffer when our youth and families are marginalized and removed from our communities. TCOPM will continue its efforts to shut down the school to prison pipeline and to mentor youth and families back into peaceful living. We hope others will join us in our vision and action to create a future that honors, values, and recognizes all citizens as essential to the health and well-being of the whole. It is a vision of Peace through justice."

 

Pathways To Peace thanks our UN ECOSOC Representative, Jessica Hoefer, 

f or content in this article.

On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, the United Nations High-Level Forum on The Culture of Peace convened in the General Assembly. Founder of the Global Movement for a Culture of Peace, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, reminded representatives that this is the 20-year anniversary of the U.N. Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. He called for the transformation of a culture of peace to the culture of peace.

The International Day of Peace (Peace Day) was formally established by the UN in 1981, with the first official Peace Day celebration in San Fransisco that was acknowledged in 70 countries. Around 1984, the Culture of Peace started as a movement calling for "Peace Day" to be every day by building cooperation between individuals, programs, organizations, and members of civil society. Pathways To Peace was there supporting the inception of Peace Day and the movement that ceded the Culture of Peace. In 1999, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury was instrumental in establishing the U.N. Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and the High-Level Forums on the Culture of Peace. Ambassador Chowdhury has devoted many years as an inspirational champion for sustainable peace and development and ardently advancing the cause of the global movement for the culture of peace that has energized civil society all over the world.

saying a culture of Peace "cannot be installed. It cannot be erected, overnight. It cannot come from a workshop run by an international team of experts. It must be built up, block after block, layer after layer." He added that "this must be done, not by the hands of internationals, but by the people on the ground; the people who were there in their countries and in their villages when peace was not. Cultures do not come about in a day or a week, and neither does peace." "A culture of Peace is around us, every day," Lajcak said. "It' s in what we do, where we go, how we speak." "Peace should not be a theory," the assembly president said. "It should not be a principle, or an aim, or an outcome. It should not have a budget or a timeline. Instead, peace should be something that we can touch, see, feel and experience on a daily basis. It should be in the air around us or the ground we walk on. It should, in essence, be a culture," he said, adding, "And one that is here to stay."

- H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at High-Level Forum on a Culture of Peace

On behalf of the Secretary General, Cabinet of the U.N. Secretary General, Luiza Viotti began by recognizing the progress of peace and calling for regional and sub-regional peace-inclined cooperation that makes efforts to include women and young people.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, focused on the need for a culture of peace to be dedicated to human rights and indigenous rights. She wisely explained that peace does not mean the absence of war, rather a fullness of life. This includes balance, harmony as well as complementary and mutual respect between peoples, populations, and nations. She further clarified that it includes healthcare, education, happiness.

"Peace is not the absence of war - it is rather a fullness of life." - 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum

Representatives from several Member States spoke on behalf of their respective nations. From Bangladesh to Venezuela, from the European Union to Uzbekistan, there clearly exist different approaches, focuses and challenges amongst the Member States, yet the common and shared commitment to a global culture of peace was evident throughout the presentations.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary A. DiCarlo, as well as His Excellency Mr. Lazarus Ombai Amayo, echoed President Lajčák's call for education and involvement of young people, to successfully achieve the culture of peace. Director of UNESCO Liaison Office in New York, Ms. Marie Paule Roudil, called for a tolerant, inclusive and nonviolent society vis-à-vis local knowledge, the proper use of social media and education to prevent extremism. Director of the Peace and Justice Institute of Valencia College, Ms. Rachel Allen contributed specific recommendations aimed at establishing a culture of peace that centered on the local level, specifically civil society. Former Director General of UNESCO and President of Culture of Peace Foundation, Professor Federico Mayor Zaragoza's discussion focused on his astute proposal of the transformation of the phrase, "If you wish peace, prepare for war" to "If you wish peace, prepare the dialogue." Dr. Francisco Rojas Aravena, Rector of the University of Peace, elaborated upon and illuminated the value of not only dialogue but also of transparency and trust in the building of the culture of peace.

This year's High-Level Forum on a Culture of Peace demonstrated that global peace is, in fact, cultural, for it is integrated into all aspects of our lives. Healthcare, gender equality, religious tolerance, climate sustainability, and education are all related to peace. Human rights are unequivocally intertwined and crucial to establishing tangible and lasting peace, for the protection of human rights serves to combat the many barriers to a global culture of peace. And, as it was in its earliest inception, the role of civil society, each one of us, is essential to the creation of a Culture of Peace.

How To Take an Effective Stand for Peace 

in a Volatile World

A free webinar for Peacebuilders sponsored by The Business Plan for Peace, Heart Ambassadors, Fyera Foundation, and Pathways To Peace.

You are invited to join Sheva Carr, and 3x Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Scilla Elworthy in this free 90-minute webinar, Friday, September 21st at 11 am PT.