The Catalan Forum for Peace has collected 913 proposals from citizens to help shape the Government of Catalonia’s new Country of Peace Master Plan. Between April and June, around 500 people took part in the 36 in-person sessions held throughout Catalonia, along with additional online contributions via the Participa website.
Specifically, ten deliberative sessions and 26 self-managed sessions were held by various groups, organizations and institutions, with discussions focusing on five themes: Culture of peace; Security and justice; Conflicts, violence and peace; Global threats and challenges to peace; and Women, peace and security.
Based on these thematic areas, the goal of the participatory process was to identify concrete measures to be included in the future Country of Peace Master Plan.
Debates across Catalonia
A total of 183 participants generated 301 proposals in deliberative sessions held in Barcelona, Bellaterra, Girona, Granollers, Lleida, Olot, Tarragona and Tortosa.
The self-managed sessions resulted in 467 proposals, with a total of 322 participants. These sessions were organized by various actors:
- Public institutions, such as the Department of Justice, Interior, and European Union and Foreign Affairs; the Catalan Youth Agency; the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation; and ICIP.
- Organizations advocating for peace, such as FundiPau, the Delàs Centre for Peace Studies, NOVACT, the Coordinating Committee of Solidarity NGOs of Girona, Aturem les Guerres, Terra i Pau, and Friends of UNESCO-Girona.
- Trade unions, such as Comissions Obreres and UGT.
- Community and social groups, such as neighborhood associations in Figueres, members of the African and Latin American diaspora, universities, the Network of Educators for Global Citizenship in Tarragona, CIEMEN, the Journalism for Peace Group of the Association of Journalists of Catalonia, and third-sector organizations like the Red Cross.
Finally, the participatory process also included online contributions through the Participa website. A total of 145 proposals were submitted, both individually and collectively. These include proposals submitted by Lafede, the School for a Culture of Peace, the Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation, and the Network of Mayors for Peace.
In total, 505 people took part in the participatory process. The Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace – one of the driving forces behind the Forum – will now review the proposals before presenting them to the Government. The results of the process will help define the content of the Country of Peace Master Plan, which will later be submitted to Parliament for approval. All of the proposals collected during this process will be publicly available on the Participa website.
Less violence, more global justice
The Catalan Forum for Peace is both a space for public participation and a platform for reflection. Its aim is to develop a public peace policy for Catalonia while also strengthening the peace movement. The Forum is the result of joint efforts by institutions and civil society, promoted by the Government of Catalonia, the Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace, ICIP and the network of peace associations, under the motto “Less violence, more global justice.”
In the face of global challenges such as the climate crisis, rising military expenditure, an increase in the number of armed conflicts, and the erosion of democratic foundations, Catalonia is committed to peace and seeks to encourage reflection on how we contribute to peace both here at home and abroad.
