World Peace

When wars and conflicts totally cease,

In our world, there shall be peace.
People must learn to get along,
Not blame others, for being wrong.
They fight for control, fight for land,
Some just need a helping hand.
We must rid ourselves of vanity,
And embrace peace, through humanity.
Wars make children so much tougher,
Lose their innocence, while they suffer.
We should fight for peace instead,
Love not war, we should spread.
by AnitaPoems.com
After the Connecticut shooting tragedy on Friday, December 14, it is difficult to think of much else besides desperate
thoughts about how to protect our worlds children and how to make our society a more peaceful, less violent place.

Enough has been written about the event itself that I dont feel the need to rehash the horrific details or postulate
what could have driven a human being to do such a thing (whether or not in light of mental illness, albeit that the
presence or absence of such an illness plays a large role in how this event is interpreted).

Instead, I want to focus on some positive ways to promote peace in our badly broken world. Here are twenty ideas
some of which originated in my own brain, while others were culled from organizations (and credit is given where it is
due). I would love to hear your thoughts regarding what else we can do to try to prevent violence and cultivate peace
in our fragile world.

1.

Make a personal commitment to nonviolence.

2.
When you see someone in trouble, whether he or she is lost, confused, upset, or has fallen, dont act like
you dont see the person provide some help.

3.

Show a child how to achieve calmness through deep breathing.

4.

Show a child how to be kind to animals.

5.
Show a child how to be kind to vulnerable people the homeless, those with physical or cognitive
disabilities, older people, and anyone else that appears different to the child.

6.

Speak out against prejudice and discrimination when you see it.

7.
When you feel angry, count to ten before saying anything. Then, ask yourself what response will be best for
the greater good.

8.
When you feel slighted, ask yourself if what happened was really about you or if it was about the other
person.

9.
When you realize that it was about the other person, find in your heart some compassion for that person,
realizing that he or she is most surely struggling.

10.

Regard people who hurt your feelings as your personal teachers of how to maintain a peaceful nature.

11.
If you are a member of a religious community, ask how you can get more involved in promoting peace
through its programs and ministries.

12.
If you are not a member of a religious community, find a not-for-profit community organization that works
toward peaceful communities and volunteer. To get started, search the directory at GuideStar.

13.

Share with children the Southern Poverty Law Centers Bullying: Tips for Students.

14.

Choose a career that yields only good things for our families, our communities, and our planet.

15.

Look people in the eye and smile when you pass them on the street. Better yet, actually say, Hello.

16.
Become trained in mental health first aid so you can respond to people in mental distress. To learn more
about this concept and how to become trained, read my post on this topic.

17.

Serve on committees and task forces that work to make your neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces safer.

18.

Celebrate successes in the quest for peace and nonviolence.

19.

Dont hide from life. Have faith that there is still an abundance of good in this world.

20.

Please share this list with others.

The 2014 Global Peace Index, which was released last week, revealed that the world has become less
peaceful every year since 2008.
It also showed that the global economic impact of violence is USD 9.8 trillion or 11.3 percent of global
GDP.
While many developing countries have made tremendous progress in reducing poverty over the last
decade, these are depressing numbers. However, they reiterate that peace and stability and the
prevention of violent conflict are inherently tied to sustainable development.
A less peaceful world is a much more challenging place to fight inequality and want. Countries
experiencing repeated cycles of violence face poverty at significantly higher rates. People in unstable and
conflict-affected countries are more than twice as likely to be under-nourished as those in other
developing countries; and children in conflict zones are more than three times less likely to be able to
attend school, and twice as likely to die before the age of five. Nine out of 10 countries with the lowest
human development index have experienced conflict within the past 20 years.
We must double down on efforts to mitigate risk and prevent the loss of development investment when
conflict strikes. Success today depends not just on preventing conflict in the traditional sense through
for example early warning and mediation but on finding ways of fighting poverty and inequality, and
deepening inclusion.

We must build the ability of governments to mediate disputes, we need to better address inequality and
other underlying causes of violence and we need to understand and combat such factors as
transnational crime and radicalization.
UNDP works to support local institutions, civil society and leaders in their efforts to prevent violence,
manage conflicts constructively, and engage peacefully in political transitions and rapid change
processes. In many places, like Georgia,Madagascar and Kenya, UNDP help has led to real
improvements and the diffusing of tensions, especially around events such as elections or political
transitions, when violence was expected. This shows that violence is not random. It can often be
predicted.
And often, we focus on building the state. But as the Global Peace Index for 2014 shows, we need to
adopt a wider perspective because sometimes this approach fails to address the deep-seated causes of
structural violence. We need to focus on strengthening social covenants, because this is the glue that
holds groups or communities together and lays the foundation for social contracts.
Peace and sustainable development go hand in hand and failure to address this reality means we will live
in a more violent planet for years to come.

Best Way to Promote Peace

By

Jill

Masalonga

The quest for peace and search for solutions to resolve conflicts like Christian-Muslim relationship is
still a long way and it has to be strategic. We have no time for a competitive approach or win-lose
strategy. Strategies itself must be peaceful like formal dialogues, negotiations, and an active
participation
of
civil
society
of
the
Philippines.
But

how

can

we

do

this

if

most

of

the

time

we

dont

care

for

peace?

I believe it is through Peace Education. Understanding peace is very important. Awareness is the key
and it is the beginning. Being aware of the importance of peace is a process of acquiring the right
values, skills and behaviors in resolving interpersonal and intra-personal disputes through
techniques of negotiations. There are various ways to teach peace and the other elements attached
to it like culture, importance of communication, prejudice, discrimination, human dignity, stereotypes
and resolving of conflicts to a wider population including all walks of life.
How to educate people about Peace is the next challenge. We can promote peace by:
1.

Walking

the

talk.

Be

role

model

to

others.

2. Consciously influencing others through Social Media Tweet about peace, Read about peace
talks and inform to other people, post articles in facebook other social networks.

3.

Starting

peace

within

yourself,

family,

and

neighbors.

4. Lastly, if you have time, be involved with peace projects in educating people about peace. I am
sharing my own personal way in spreading peace when I joined PeaceTech Workshop and we
created a puppet show for kids, entitled: Doray the PeaceMaker. Here is the documentary of our
puppet show.