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After evaluating the 23 valid candidacies received, the ICIP Board of Governors has decided to grant the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 to all the civil society peace initiatives of the Basque Country “for their contribution to the advancement of peace, the end of political violence and the creation of new frameworks of coexistence and reconciliation.”  These initiatives include several groups and NGOs, some of which have played a key role in advancing towards resolution of the conflict, such as the Permanent Social Forum and the now-dissolved Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz and Elkarri/Lokarri.

Also included are entities that work for peace education, and the promotion of coexistence and human rights, through the Forum of Associations for Peace and Human Rights Education, where Gernika Gogoratuz plays an important role.  Finally, the award honours the dialogue initiatives led by victims, such as the Citizens-Memory Lab Meetings or the Restorative Encounters between prisoners and victims of ETA

The winning candidacy was presented by the Catalan organization Fundipau, which emphasized that “in the context of the tenth anniversary of the end of ETA and the evolution of Basque society towards a level of coexistence, peace and reconciliation – still very precarious, but unimaginable just twenty years ago – we believe it is necessary to recognize, highlight and applaud the role of civil society.”

The Basque peace process features the singularity of not having a peace agreement.  The leading role in the rejection of violence, the promotion of social and political dialogue initiatives, and the defence of the rights to truth, memory, justice and guarantees of non-repetition have fallen on the associative fabric – a fabric as diverse in its perspectives, priorities and strategies as society itself.

The ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 will be presented in a ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia in September, on the International Day of Peace.

The following are some of the initiatives featured in the winning candidacy:

Foro Social Permanente (2016 – present)

This initiative, consisting of 17 civil society organizations, was created in 2016 – five years after ETA’s definitive end to armed activity – to address fundamental issues for the transition to peace in the absence of a formal negotiation table: ETA’s disarmament, the recognition of all the victims of the conflict, the need to put an end to the exceptional nature of the penitentiary measures applied to ETA prisoners, and the construction of a critical memory with which society as a whole can identify.

Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz de Euskal Herria (1989-2013)

Gesto was founded with the aim of expressing a rejection of violence and defending, above all, the fundamental right to life.  It took to the streets for the first time in 1985, using silence as its gesture to dissociate itself from the violence that was taking place in the Basque Country and Navarre – mainly against the ETA attacks, but also against the attacks perpetrated by GAL and the illegal actions of the police forces.  This pioneering initiative generated an ethical awareness in a very polarized context where gestures for peace could be questioned by certain sectors of society.  In 2011, after ETA’s announcement of an end to armed activity, Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz announced its dissolution.

Elkarri (1992-2006) / Lokarri (2006-2015)

Elkarri was founded in 1992 with the aim of promoting “mobilization in favour of a peaceful solution to the Basque conflict or problem through dialogue.”  It promoted meeting places to facilitate social and political agreements and focused on the recognition of all the victims of the conflict.  In 2006, the association became known as Lokarri in order to reinforce its commitment to a negotiated solution to the Basque conflict.  Lokarri was the promoter of the Aiete Conference, in October 2011, which preceded ETA’s announcement of an end to violence.  In 2015, Lokarri was dissolved after considering that the peace process in the Basque Country was irreversible once the objectives of the end of ETA violence and the legalization of Sortu had been achieved.

Gernika Gogoratuz – Centro de Investigación pro la Paz (1987- present)

Gernika Gogoratuz (Remembering Gernika) is a Peace Research Center created in 1987, the 50^th anniversary of the Bombing of Gernika, and carries out its work in the field of memory and the culture of peace.  Its goal is to contribute to peacebuilding in the Basque Country and worldwide.  The centre features a specialized library with 6,200 volumes.

Foro de Asociaciones de Educación en Derechos Humanos y por la Paz (2007 – present)

This is a network of associations whose aim is to contribute to the culture of peace and the promotion of human rights.  It comprises some twenty organizations, including Baketik, a foundation established in 2006 to promote social and personal change, in an ethical sense; Bakeola, an organization dedicated to promoting coexistence; and the Fernando Buesa Foundation, established in memory of and in tribute to Fernando Buesa, assassinated by ETA, with the aim of keeping his example – in favour of the culture of peace, democracy and social progress – alive.

Encuentros restaurativos (Restorative Encounters) (2011-2012)

The so-called Restorative Encounters were meetings between people who had suffered the direct violence of ETA – either as direct victims or as family members – and people who had committed violence and who at the time were serving prison sentences.  The encounters stemmed from the desire of some inmates of the Nanclares de Oca prison to reach out to their victims as part of their internal process of separating themselves from the practice of violence.  Between 2011 and 2012, a total of 14 meetings between victims and perpetrators were held, with the support of the Directorate for Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government and the Department of Penitentiary Institutions.

Memoria Lab Encuentros Ciudadanos (Citizen Encounters) (2013-2018)

Memory Lab is a citizen participation program for the social construction of memory in the Basque Country that emerged in 2013, one and a half years after the definitive end to ETA’s armed activity.  The initiative was created by three organizations with extensive experience in the culture of peace and human rights: Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Bakeola and Gernika Gogoratuz.   From the outset, the program was based on social laboratory logic with a dual purpose: to promote the social construction of memory and to foster social relations based on nonviolent coexistence and respect for civic pluralism, and sustained by democratic values.

Other initiatives featured in the global candidacy include the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Argituz, Ahotsak, emaGune, UNESCO Etxea, Eskubidez, Bakea Orain, Denon Artean and Foro Ciudadano Donostia.

ICIP Peace in Progress Award

The ICIP Award has reached its eleventh edition this year.  The purpose of the award, established in 2011, is to publicly recognize people, organizations or institutions that have worked for, and contributed to, the promotion and building of peace in a prominent and extensive manner.

The award consists of public recognition, a sculpture, called Porta del Sol, created by Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and an economic endowment of 6,000 euros.  The presentation of the award takes place annually at an institutional ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia.

Previous recipients of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award include Julienne Lusenge (2020); Collectif de Familles de Disparu(e)s en Algérie (2019); Cauce Ciudadano, Mexico (2018); Arcadi Oliveres (2017); Peace Brigades International (2016); Joan Botam (2015); Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (2014); Jovan Divjak, Bosnia (2013); Madres de Soacha, Colombia (2012); The Struggle of Conscientious Objectors and those who refuse military service, represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011); and the Parliament of Catalonia (2011, extraordinary edition).

Previous recipients of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award include Julienne Lusenge (2020); Collectif de Familles de Disparu(e)s en Algérie (2019); Cauce Ciudadano, Mèxic (2018); Arcadi Oliveres (2017); Peace Brigades International (2016); Joan Botam (2015); Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (2014); Jovan Divjak, Bosnia (2013); Mares de Soacha, Colòmbia (2012); The Struggle of Conscientious Objectors represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011); and Parlament de Catalunya (2011, extraordinary edition).

ICIP has presented a new monograph of the digital magazine Peace in Progress dedicated to violence in non-war settings. The publication coincides with the release of the new digital version of the magazine, a completely revamped platform with a new design that makes it easier to consult all the issues published so far. This latest issue, the number 40, is entitled Violence in non-war settings.

Over the past four years, ICIP has made an effort to focus on these high-intensity situations, which are not related to extremism or classical warfare. They are situations that do not necessarily occur in authoritarian regimes but happen in “failed states” or in the poorest of all, something devastating to millions of people around the world. It is violence linked to organised crime, human trafficking, violence against defenders of the land and the environment, violence against women, and migration crises. This kind of violence is often associated with Latin America, but it is a reality in many other parts of the world.

With the publication of this issue, ICIP wants to contribute to broadening the views and knowledge on these multiple dimensions of violence, making it visible and at the same time giving tools to the people and groups who work to deal with it. Ours is a peacebuilding look that seeks to understand this violence’s dynamics and to know its actors based on a multidimensional reading of the phenomenon.

The authors

The monograph consists of 8 articles and an interview. The authors participating are: Ana Glenda Tager (Alianza por la Paz), Roger Mac Ginty (Durham Global Security Institute), José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez (Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, Mexico), Carolina Ricardo (Instituto Sou da Paz ), Mohamed Daghar (ENACT), Esperanza Hernández Delgado (La Salle University, Colombia), Jordi Mir (Pompeu Fabra University) and Sabina Puig (ICIP).

The monograph also includes an interview with Mary Kaldor, an expert in war, peace and security studies. The coordination was carried out by Sabina Puig, head of the ‘Violence in non-war settings’ area of ICIP.

On May 12, ICIP will hold a virtual magazine presentation on Twitter. The session will feature the participation of the authors Carolina Ricardo and José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez.

New design

With the release of this issue, the 40th edition, the magazine launches a new digital platform completely renewed and integrated into the ICIP website. The team responsible for the new design is Whads.

The renovation aims to open a new stage to consolidate the magazine’s trajectory and increase its scope and projection.

Based on articles, lectures and debates, Peace in Progress magazine offers a broad and multifaceted look at issues affecting peacebuilding. The aim is to contribute to the public discussion and provide content, diagnosis and proposals.

The magazine has published monographs on dialogue in polarised societies, drugs and violence in Latin America, missing persons, and the need to reorient security from feminism.

Check the new magazine here.

On Thursday, February 24, we woke up to the news of the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At around 6 a.m. Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine; minutes later, there were the first missile attacks in various parts of the country, including Kyiv.

Putin has launched a war that, in addition to the humanitarian, economic, political and environmental consequences, will have a disastrous impact on peace-building efforts, not only in Ukraine but in Europe and on a global scale, according to ICIP’s statement that we published the same Thursday.

Given the situation’s complexity, we offer a collection of articles and texts of opinion from a pacifist perspective.

• “Reclaiming universal jurisdiction“, by Sabina Puig (ICIP)

In this article, the author reclaims to rehabilitate the principle of universal jurisdiction in order to investigate the crimes of war in Ukraine and guarantee the victims their rights to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. As the author says, “if the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocides of the last decades had been prosecuted more vigorously, then the victimizers would probably not feel so strongly that in war, everything goes and that excess does not entail consequences”.

• “Reflections on the Russian invasion from a pacifist perspective“, by Pablo Aguiar (ICIP)

During this time of war, Aguiar defends moving towards institutional architectures that guarantee the security of all the countries of the European continent and that guarantee peaceful management of conflicts. Because the alternative is to increase military spending and to move closer, perhaps fatally, to a new war. 

• “Security in times of war“, by Sandra Martínez (ICIP)

Militarism alone has never translated into positive conflict management; on the contrary, it has trapped, displaced or worsened them in the medium and long term. So, what kind of security are we talking about in these days of the offensive in Ukraine? From whom and for whom? In this article, the head of the “Alternatives of Security” area of the ICIP claims the need to seek mechanisms for solidarity and shared security to prevent violence and the arms race.

• “How do we respond to Putin’s war?“, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this article, ICIP’s director explains that the debate on whether or not to supply weapons is a perverse dilemma because either answer entails the death of thousands of people. 

• ‘Putin might be winning the military battle but he has lost the moral one’, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this interview, Herbolzheimer talks about the dimension of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, something “beyond what was thinkable for anybody,” the ICIP director said. “Where we are right now, there are no good options, all options are bad,” he told this media outlet.

• “War in Ukraine: Peace Frameworks and Initiatives“, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this article, the director of ICIP writes about the historical references of understanding between the parties to the conflict. He also writes about the diplomatic and social initiatives of dialogue that have been deployed for years in the region, since of a local and European framework.

• “What would real peacebuilding in Ukraine look like?”, by Almut Rochowanski (WILPF, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom)

This article covers the initiatives of relaxation and dialogue that have taken place in recent decades to address the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and advocates a peace-building strategy focused on people, human security and feminism.

• “It’s time to ask: what would a Ukraine-Russia peace deal look like?“, by Anatol Lieven (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)

In this article published in The Guardian, the author calls for a dialogue solution to end the war and points out some of the issues that should be on the table.

• “A Just Peace for a Besieged Ukraine“, by Fernando Travesí (ICTJ)

More than 4 million Ukrainians are now refugees; another 10 million are internally displaced, and a rising but still undetermined number have been killed, are missing, or are wounded. The real question is what just peace means for Ukrainians.

• “War in Ukraine: Do Negotiations Stand a Chance?“, by Initiative Mediation Support Deutschland (IMSD)

With the atrocities against civilians in Butcha and other Ukrainian cities reported in early April, the violence and inhumanity of the ongoing war have entered a new degree of visibility. For some, this means negotiations are completely discredited; for others, negotiations are even more imperative.

• Seven points on the war and dialogue. From Ukrainian mediators and dialogue facilitators

This document was developed by Ukrainian mediators and dialogue facilitators in May 2022 to convey their voices and professional opinion to prominent actors in the international sphere of conflict transformation.

As an element of analysis and reflection, we also share this thread shared by the director of ICIP.

https://twitter.com/KristianHerbolz/status/1498420232003665926?s=20&t=KWhF8FEgVQoXPeqJmwsgzQ

Recommended reading

As a complement to the analysis of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the figure of Putin, you can also consult the extensive catalogue of the ICIP Library. You can see an example of the vast bibliography we have on the subject in the photo.

Representatives of the different European working groups (‘nodos’ in Spanish) supporting the Truth Commission in Colombia have participated in a meeting from April 7 to 10 at the UNESCO House in Barcelona.

The meeting, convened by the ICIP as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe, brought together around fifty representatives from the ‘nodos’ of Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

This is the fourth meeting of this type organised and the first held in person in the last two years after the previous activities were carried out virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting had the support of the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development (Agència Catalana de Cooperació al Desenvolupament – ACCD).

According to one of the meeting organisers, ICIP technician Sílvia Plana, it has served to “meet again and strengthen our collaboration and trust. Likewise, we have been able to take stock of what the more than three years of support process for the Commission from abroad have implied and coordinate efforts for the presentation and socialisation of the final report that the Commission will deliver on June 28,” she explained.

Commissioner Lucía González Duque and Commissioner Carlos Martín Beristain also participated in this meeting to set the scene for the presentation of the report and coordinate the Commission’s legacy strategy abroad.

According to Martín Beristain, “the meeting has made it possible to articulate the work with the groups in exile and the people who have helped us weave the work from abroad. Now we hope that the final report will be a boost for the transformation that Colombia needs”, he assured.

At the meeting, the participants also talked about the systematisation of the process that has been used in the last three years to collect the testimony of the victims of the Colombian conflict exiled in Europe. At the same time, the role of the groups in exile and their legacy has been reflected upon once the commission concludes its mandate.

The meeting also served to commemorate the National Day of Memory and Solidarity with the Victims of the Armed Conflict in Colombia on April 9. The ICIP organised a commemorative act with the participation of the institution’s director, Kristian Herbolzheimer; the Director-General for the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development, Josep Desquens; and the two commissioners attending the meeting.

During the act, two of the victims’ representatives, Adriana Quintero Úsuga and Albeiro Moya Mena, read a statement approved by all those present. You can read the text of the declaration here (in Spanish).

The Colombian singer-songwriter resident in Barcelona, Marta Gómez, was in charge of closing the activity by interpreting some songs.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, various rallies and demonstrations have been organized in Barcelona and elsewhere in Catalonia.

On Wednesday, March 2, Barcelona said: “No to war”.

The massive outcry that made the city vibrate 18 years ago against the US attack on Iraq has now been revived by another unilateral intervention, the Russian Army against Ukraine.

The anti-war platform Stop the War (Plataforma Aturem la Guerra) organized the rally with the support of more than 300 entities.

According to the Guardia Urbana, the concentration brought together 3,500 people.

In the protest, the journalist and activist David Fernández and the actress Cristina Brondo read the manifesto published by the platform.

The manifesto expresses itself against “the current military aggression of the Russian government against the Ukrainian population” and expresses solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine.

“Beyond the shows of solidarity and declarations of condemnation, it is necessary to take action to stop the violence. We are facing the worst eco-social crisis in history, and wars aggravate this situation because they generate destruction and greater pollution, events incompatible with life. We need our governments to act to stop the escalation of warmongering before falling into a war of devastating proportions,” says the manifesto.

The Aturem la Guerra Platform was born with the war in Iraq in 2003. On February 15 of that year, the city starred in one of the largest demonstrations in the world against the war in Iraq.

The Ukrainian community is protesting

On Sunday, March 6, the Ukrainian community living in Barcelona called another demonstration in Plaça Catalunya.

Several hundred people (about eight hundred, according to the Guardia Urbana) rallied to demand an end to the war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and for NATO to establish an exclusion zone in the area that prevent flight of planes from Russia.

The protesters, who carried Ukrainian flags and numerous banners calling for an end to the war and a no-fly zone, observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the war.

Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona has become the daily meeting point for Ukrainians since the outbreak of the war. People with Ukrainian flags gather every afternoon and several camp in the area at night.

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ICIP strongly condemns Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which began this morning. The onslaught of Russian forces is unprecedented in European territory. In addition to its humanitarian, economic, political and environmental consequences, it will have a disastrous impact on peace-building efforts in Ukraine, Europe, and the world.

Russia has started a war that ends nine years of efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Ukrainian region of Donbas. The invasion blew up the 2014 Minsk Accords, which created a ceasefire and a roadmap for resolving the war. Also, it sweeps away citizen initiatives for social and political dialogue, human rights advocacy and criticism of authoritarianism in Ukraine and Russia.

At the same time, the attack is destroying Europe’s conflict prevention architecture, based on the concept of “shared security” and dialogue within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It breaks the fragile international consensus on the need to prioritize diplomacy to resolve conflicts.

“The European Union and NATO have not had the vision, ambition and generosity to design a security architecture outside of militarism and the idea of the external enemy for the last thirty years”, said Kristian Herbolzheimer, director of the ICIP. “But Russia’s action is hampering any critical initiative with the prevailing security model, and instead of disarming Europe, we are embarking on a new arms race”. This is a scenario that is even more worrying given Russia’s nuclear capacity and the existence of fifteen atomic reactors in Ukraine.

Given this situation, it is necessary to demand weapons to stop immediately to protect the civilian population. At the same time, it is essential to avoid the warlike dynamics of building the image of the enemy: “Putin is not Russia. Putin has embarked on a war adventure that could end up plaguing the Russian people themselves”, said the ICIP director.

In the field of peacebuilding, we reaffirm that war can never be an option. In the face of today’s scenario in Ukraine, courage, creativity and social support are needed to find alternatives to the weapons based on the concept of shared security.

https://twitter.com/ICIPeace/status/1496845766719324163?s=20&t=_FgO9NiLXQVApkof0RJcJg

Sunday 28 November marks the third anniversary of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia, which has an innovative mandate since this is the first time a truth commission has included the population living outside the country as a subject of participation.

ICIP has played an active role in this undertaking since 2019. It acts as the Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe with the objective of facilitating the work with the victims of the Colombian conflict in Europe.

ICIP provides technical and logistical support for the activities organized by the Commission in Europe. It coordinates the working groups established in various European countries (nodes) and has provided methodological support for the process of taking testimony from victims of the Colombian conflict in exile, which has made it possible to document cases and contribute to the clarification of truth, justice and non-repetition of the crimes.

ICIP has facilitated the creation of fifteen nodes in ten European countries, which have become participatory spaces for the sharing of experiences, coexistence and dialogue among victims of the Colombian conflict living in Europe.

Additionally, internodal groups with different thematic focuses – gender, psychosocial accompaniment, recognition of victims, relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, and second and third generations in exile – have been created.

Testimonies: treasures of the collective truth

In this process of working with Colombian exiles, 90 people have been trained as interviewers and recorders, mostly victims and women, and a total of 822 testimonies have been taken in Europe (2,000 worldwide).

The taking of testimonies has made it possible to reveal life stories, silences, impacts, struggles, resilience and contributions to host societies, as well as to promote transformative listening and self-recognition of the victims.

Recognition of the victims

Another issue that ICIP works on as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe is the creation of spaces for the institutional recognition of exiled victims. The process, coordinated by the Catalonia Node of support to the Commission, includes the promotion of institutional declarations and the approval of motions by city councils and social organizations.

To carry out all of these actions, ICIP receives the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The Truth Commission is part of Colombia’s Integral System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Repetition, along with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and the Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons.

The mandate of the Truth Commission has been extended until June 2022, which is when the final report is scheduled to be submitted.

Full details of ICIP’s work as Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe can be found in the “Memory, Coexistence and Reconciliation” section of the ICIP website.

The ICIP has announced the call for nominations for the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022, which aims to publicly recognize individuals, entities or institutions that, in an outstanding and extensive manner, have worked and contributed to the promotion and building of peace.

In this eleventh edition, the deadline for submitting nominations is February 24 2022. The applications can be registered electronically, through this site (in Spanish), or they can be registered in person at any administrative register of the Spanish state, and at an embassy or consulate outside Spain. Please check with the ICIP (convocatories@icip.cat) well in advance of registration deadlines if you are submitting from abroad. Nomination of candidates by e-mail will not be accepted.

The ICIP Peace in Progress Award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, called Porta del sol, and 6,000 euros. The award ceremony takes place annually in an institutional ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia.

Any natural or legal person can submit nominations to the ICIP Peace in
Progress Award, but self-nominated candidates will not be accepted.

Previous granted

In previous editions, the award was granted to the activist from Congo Julienne Lusenge (2020), Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (2019), the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano (2018), the activist Arcadi Oliveres (2017), Peace Brigades International (2016), the Capuchin friar Joan Botam (2015), WILPF (2014), the ex-general Jovan Divjak (2013), Madres de Soacha (2012), and the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011).

The same year, 2011, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

ICIP’s Governing Board was renewed in October, in accordance with the provisions of the law by which the institution was created.

With regard to the members elected by the Parliament of Catalonia, the plenary session of the chamber renewed Xavier Masllorens – who serves as president of ICIP – and Òscar Mateos, and appointed as new members the researcher Nour Salameh and the activist and writer Remei Sipi, who will take over from Cécile Barbeito and Magda Oranich.

As for the members appointed by the Government of Catalonia, the Generalitat has designated Josep Desquens, director general of Development Cooperation, and Joan Maria Piqué, director general of Planning and Innovation in External Action of the Government of Catalonia, to replace Miquel Royo and Manel Vila.

Along with these new appointees, the following members will continue to serve: Constitutional Law professor Marco Aparicio, anthropologist Gemma Casal, journalist Carme Colomina and the president of Ciemen, David Minoves.

Article 6 of Law 14/2007 on the creation of ICIP establishes that the Governing Board is the highest management and administrative body of the institution and that it is comprised of ten members, of which seven are elected by Parliament and three are appointed by the Government.

The World Peace Congress organised by the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) ended this Sunday in Barcelona after three days of conferences, workshops, and cultural events.

Under the title “(Re)imagine the world. Action for peace and justice”, more than 2,600 people participated in this hybrid congress, with activities in Barcelona. The events took place in the Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) and the Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull and were broadcast on the Internet.

Nine hundred people attended the congress in person, while 1,600 attended virtually. Participants came from 126 countries. In Barcelona, activists from 75 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Afghanistan, India, and Mongolia, were also able to listen to the speeches covering issues such as nuclear disarmament, climate justice, racism, and indigenous peoples’ rights.

As IPB Executive Director, Reiner Braun, explains, this is the most significant international peace event this year. “The congress was a great success. We got great support from the city of Barcelona and the president of the government of Catalonia. From my point of view, it was the right congress in this difficult political time and the right place because we got great support from the city. The IPB will continue working on the way of more engagement for peace after the congress”.

Jordi Calvo, IPB Vice-President and member of the local committee, affirms: “At the congress, we have seen that the peace movement is not alone. The large participation of feminist, anti-racist and global justice movements in the conferences and seminars shows that pacifism is more alive than ever but needs to adapt to new narratives and generations. After this congress, the Catalan, Spanish, European and global peace movement is stronger”.

The World Peace Congress brought together the different peace organisations in Catalonia for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. From the event has also emerged the commitment to organise a Catalan Congress of Culture of Peace within two years, after opening a period of analysis, reflection and action. “The values of peace and justice are accepted everywhere, but the reality contrasts with good intentions. The peace movement must go one step further so that institutional commitments can be translated into necessary transformations. We need to update our discourse and seek new alliances to have a greater impact”, said Kristian Herbolzheimer, the director of ICIP.

The congress started on Friday 15 October with an event attended by the President of the Generalitat Pere Aragonés and the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau. The opening session was attended by prominent names such as British politician Jeremy Corbyn and ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn.

Exhibition “Facing Violence: Stories of Resilience in Central America”.

Coinciding with the Second World Peace Congress celebration, ICIP will launch the photo exhibition “Facing Violence: Stories of resilience in Central America “. The show, created by the Ruido Photo group, will be on display for three days, until 18 October, at Plaça Joan Coromines in Barcelona.

Through photography and interviews, the exhibition is a journey through the many faces of violence that affect daily life in three Central American countries known as the Northern Triangle: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Sean MacBride Award

Each year, IPB gives the Sean MacBride Peace Prize to an individual or organisation that has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and human rights. This year the award was awarded to Black Lives Matter for the movement’s dedication and work to create a world where the lives of black people can thrive.

On the second day of the World Peace Congress in Barcelona, Rev Karlene Griffiths Sekou, community minister, academic and activist, and director of Healing Justice and International Organizing, received the award on behalf of the social movement. “Our movement is not a moment in time; it is a constant reminder to eradicate white supremacy, change racist policies and overthrow oppressive systems”.

You can access the photos of the congress here.

On 15 October, coinciding with the celebration of the Second World Peace Congress, ICIP will launch the photo exhibition “Facing Violence: Stories of resilience in Central America“. The exhibition, created by the Ruido Photo group, will be on display for three days, until 18 October, at Plaça Joan Coromines in Barcelona.

Through photography and interviews, the exhibition is a journey through the many faces of violence that affect daily life in three Central American countries known as the Northern Triangle: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The figures are alarming: on average, a person is killed every 40 minutes. Extortions, rapes, kidnappings, murders and disappearances, but also situations of poverty and social exclusion, are part of the daily life of a large segment of the population, especially the most vulnerable.

However, in this hostile context of violence, the exhibition also gives voice to the people who fight, day after day, to transform this reality through educational initiatives, awareness, care and solidarity. Brave people who undertake projects with an amazing capacity for resilience, who demonstrate that history is not written and that there is extraordinary potential to advance towards peace.

Women, children, youth and migrants

The exhibition is divided into four thematic areas: Women, Children, Youth and Migrants.  Throughout the exhibition, the violence suffered by various sectors of society is shown.  Women and children are particularly vulnerable, as are young people who, in poor and socially marginalized environments, are recruited by “maras,” lured by the promise of security.  These gangs, which have become violent transnational mafias, give them the opportunity to grow and make easy money.

In this context, many people are forced to migrate, thus exposing themselves to arrest, kidnapping, rape or murder, mostly by organized crime.  The Northern Triangle route to the United States is the scene of a serious humanitarian crisis.

As a counterpoint to the multiple forms of violence, the exhibition highlights the trajectory of four people who, from their fields of action, face the situation.  Based on interviews, the exhibition features the following testimonies:

• Morena Herrera, women’s rights advocate, El Salvador
• Marisa Martínez, children’s rights advocate, El Salvador
• Wilfredo Gómez, former member of the “maras” and founder of the “Huellas de esperanza” (Traces of hope) program, El Salvador
• Mauro Verzeletti, founder and director of “La Casa del Migrante,” Guatemala

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Technical characteristics

The exhibition includes a QR code through which those interested can access a Spanish and English translation of the texts. It also features an audio description system for the blind.

The exhibition consists of four cube-shaped structures that can be distributed in indoor and outdoor public spaces. The distribution of the cubes adapts to the space available and the exhibit is both easy to install and weather resistant. Each cube deals with a particular theme and features photographs on the outside and texts on the inside.

“Face to face with violences: Stories of resilience in Central America” is part of ICIP’s “Violences in non-war settings” work area.

ICIP has released two songs composed by 120 victims who left Colombia because of the armed conflict, and the Colombian singer-songwriter based in Barcelona, Marta Gómez. This innovative initiative of citizen participation was promoted by the Truth Commission of Colombia.

The proposal for this project came from the Catalunya Node, a meeting and coordination space for organizations that support the work of the Commission. The Node has led the task of taking 120 testimonies from victims of the conflict living in Catalonia (out of more than a thousand interviews that have been conducted worldwide).

“It is essential to accompany the victim interviews with psychosocial support measures; that is why we decided to organize these workshops. We wanted to turn emotions and experiences into music with the aim of strengthening healing through an artistic exercise,” explains Helga Flamtermesky, one of the Catalunya Node interviewers. “Art is a great tool to process traumatic events such as exile and migration,” says ICIP member Ana Isabel Barrera. “During the interviews, we realized that people not only talked about what they felt living outside of Colombia, but also asked questions about the country,” she added.

Two songs, two audiovisuals

This observation inspired the creation of two songs that complement each other. The first one, “Surcos de amor,” talks about the relationship that the victims have with Colombia in their imagination. The second one, “Vuelve,” is intended as a symbolic response from Colombia to the victims.

The songs are performed by the Colombian singer-songwriter based in Catalonia, Marta Gómez. The artist was one of the people in charge of leading the workshops that she remembers in a very special way:

“The workshops were a gift to my soul. At first I thought it would be very difficult to try to compose a song with people who had never written one, but it ended up being a magical experience,” she says.

“In the end, all those people who told me shyly at the beginning of the workshop that they wouldn’t know what to say ended up becoming creative writers, capable of expressing everything they had experienced and suffered through, turning it into poetry,” she adds.

The two songs that were created will be published on Spotify, in an EP entitled “Canciones de ida y vuelta.” But the process has also resulted in two audiovisual products: a documentary and a music video.

The producer, Iván Guarnizo, has recorded the creative process of producing the songs in a short documentary entitled “Tejiendo canciones.”  About this process he says: “The documentary is about a collective creative process. We witness how the participants get to know each other and, together, weave the song until the singer-songwriter records it in a studio.”

In addition, Karolina Villarraga, of the MicuFilm production company, won a public competition to produce a music video for “Vuelve.” She decided to film an animated video starring a masked mother bear and her bear cub.

“We chose the masked bear, an emblematic animal of Colombia, as a symbolic character and protagonist of the narrative, bearing in mind that the armed conflict also affects the environment,” explains the person in charge of the music video.

The two songs, the documentary and the music video were presented on 17 September at 8pm in an online event where the artists talked about the creative process.