Check out these amazing places of peace. Use them as inspiration to create spaces of peace in any effort for peace you are involved in.
by Taylor O’Connor | 23 August 2024
“Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.” – Hafsat Abiola
When I studied peace and conflict, then later when I began working on peacebuilding initiatives there is often much focus on transforming structural and cultural violence. While these are key approaches, my earliest experiences drew me to this idea of creating spaces for peace learning and action.
I had just finished my Masters in Peace Education and learned a lot about developing curriculum and programming about education for peace, human rights and intercultural understanding. I returned to Myanmar and began working with peace initiatives of all kinds. There was a lot of intercommunal conflict at the time and many peacebuilders were dedicated to creating spaces for people from diverse groups to get to know one another, to dissolve the artificial barriers that separate them, and to foster intercultural understanding and ultimately peace action.
I brought those ideals into my work, supporting youth groups around the country to setup nonformal education programs with youth participants from diverse religious and cultural groups. We couldn’t yet talk about peace or human rights openly due to the government, so we focused on community development. I continued learning from different peacebuilders and groups I worked with and supported, and my interest in exploring ways to create space for peace learning and action grew.
What I’ve learned about creating spaces for peace
When I launched this blog Everyday Peacebuilding in January of 2020 I integrated the approach of creating spaces and places of peace as part of my foundational resource, 198 Actions for Peace. It was one of 5 key approaches, also including transforming structural violence and cultural violence, personal peace, and peaceful relationships.
I never considered myself an expert in this area, but I felt that it deserved some serious consideration and focus. In this approach I included 32 specific actions to take to create spaces and places for peace across sub-topics of creating spaces, revitalizing spaces, and utilizing shared spaces. Specific actions included things like starting a mural or community art project, mapping cultural assets of your community, and creating zones of peace.
Since then, I’ve been researching in a more organized fashion about peacebuilding actions and approaches, and from that have mapped tons more approaches. I recently published a blog post about creating zones of peace, one on peace parks, another about peace museums and exhibits, and another about peace festivals and events to name a few related to creating spaces for peace. Each of these covers a specific approach of building peace associated with spaces and provides examples.
But in this blog post what I’m focused on is more specifically about spaces and places of peace that anyone can create. And what I found is that some of these are created in association with specific landmarks or geographic locations associated with peace, war or where something related to peace/war has happened, while other spaces are created by individuals and groups from scratch, with previous association with war or peace.
And it goes to show that anyone can create a space or a place for peace. Often, those who initiate these spaces do so in collaboration with many individuals and groups. But what they have in common is that these all are spaces created at the initiative of dedicated persons and groups, who created these spaces focused on peace learning and action.
Have a look at these examples. I hope they inspire you to create a space or place of peace near you.
Inspiring Spaces and Places of Peace
Below I have included examples of ten inspiring spaces and places for peace. I have organized them into two sections:
- Landmarks and places of peace
- Spaces for peace learning and action
In this blog post I have not included zones of peace, peace parks, peace museums, or peace festivals and events. These were covered in separate blog posts linked above.
I have also not included peace monuments or museums and spaces created at sites where war, atrocities or collective traumas have occurred. I may create a blog post on these topics and when I do I’ll link them here. You may be interested in the meantime to check out examples within the networks of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, who focus on supporting groups and organizations to establish learning spaces in historic sites, place-based museum and memorials in sites where atrocities or collective traumas occurred.
Landmarks and places of peace
In this section I have included places of peace that are landmarks or have some geographic significance for peace. These are examples of creating a place for peace based on a historic location where something significant happened for peace or where some event happened that threatens peace.
The American Peace Society house | Washington D.C., USA
American Peace Society house located in Washington D.C., USA a was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Built in 1878, it was the national headquarters of the American Peace Society from 1911 to 1948. The Peace Society was one of the first pacifist organizations in the US, with a history dating to 1815. They organized peace conferences and regularly published a periodical entitled Advocate of Peace. They house is a symbol of a rich legacy of peace activism in the US.
The Peace Palace | The Hague, Netherlands
Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands) houses the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the United Nations International Court of Justice, The Hague Academy of International Law and also the Peace Palace Library. It was the site of historic peace conferences in 1899 and 1907. The Carnegie Foundation is the owner and manager of the Peace Palace. The palace has a visitors center where you can gain more information about the history of the Peace Palace and the work of the institutions located at the palace. If you are not able to go to the Peace Palace, the website offers a virtual 360-degree tour of the buildings, which is an interesting idea for peace landmarks and places.
The St Columb’s Park House | Derry, Northern Ireland
St Columb’s Park House is a peace and reconciliation center in Derry, Northern Ireland that offers a shared space for learning, leadership and peaceful activism. Located at the heart of a large public park, the center supports local people to be changemakers, peacebuilders and active citizens within the community, fostering collaboration and support among diverse communities in pursuit of a fair and peaceful society.
Nobel Peace Center | Oslo, Norway
Serving as the public face of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Peace Center is located in a converted 1872 train station at Oslo City Hall Square. They use the power of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates’ ideas, work and causes, to engage and inspire small and large actions which make the world a more peaceful place. The center offers a variety of exhibitions, events, and guided tours that are inspired by the ideas and work of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Through educational exhibits and activities that engage with the legacy of Nobel laureates, the organization aims to foster among visitors a greater appreciation for the pursuit of peace and global cooperation represented by the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Peace Farm (1986) | Texas, USA
Peace Farm was established in 1986 as an information source about the Pantex Nuclear Power Plant, and to stand as a visible witness against the weapons of mass destruction being assembled there, just outside Amarillo, Texas. The farm itself is located on a plot of land right next to the power plant. Since its founding, the Peace Farm has been involved in educational, protest and advocacy work on a wide range of peace, social justice and environmental issues. Working across a diverse array of nuclear abolition networks, the Peace Farm has a current and historic role in the global movement for nuclear abolition.
Spaces for peace learning and action
In this section I have included examples of spaces for peace that were created by individuals and groups. These have not historic significance. None are landmarks. No special event happened associated with the location of each. They are a product of the collective efforts of many to create spaces for peace learning and action.
The Embracing Our Differences (2004) | Florida, USA
Embracing Our Differences is a community centered organization based in Southwest Florida that uses the power of art, education and events to promote our shared humanity. They manage a network of educators and facilitators to carry out programs in schools around the area and they host an annual international public art exhibition consists of 50 billboard-sized works of art, each accompanied by a quotation to encourage viewers to reflect on some aspect of our shared humanity. Since they began in 2004 they have received over 16,000 entrees from over 125 countries.
The Peace Pavilion | Independence, Missouri, USA
Peace Pavilion is an interactive space that’s all about teaching children and youth powerful techniques for building peace. Through their educational programming and exhibitions across peacemaking themes such as the Peace for Me, Peace for Us, Peace for Everyone, and Peace for the Planet, the Peace Pavilion empowers children and young people to unleash their potential and create a more just and harmonious world.
The Peace Centre of Antwerp (1987) | Antwerp, Belgium
The Peace Centre of Antwerp is a space supported by the local government of Antwerp that conducts peace education activities, workshops, exhibitions, and dialogues. Through collaboration with local partners, the Peace Centre sparks vital conversations, creates opportunities for learning about peace history and war history, and fosters a safe space for Antwerp residents to from all walks of life to be catalysts for positive change in their communities. Activities over the years include exhibitions, lectures, debates, book presentations, commemorative moments, film screenings and the collection of testimonies.
House of Peace (1990) | Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA
The House of Peace is a historic house that provides physical and spiritual shelter to victims of war within a small healing community. They are committed to fostering peace and cultivating moral awakening by providing peace education activities, particularly to educate community members about the suffering of those affected by war. House of Peace has welcomed more than 500 refugees from 30 countries, including Haiti, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the Congo, and Syria. The space also houses people with disabilities and their companions, and creates spaces for persons with disabilities, their companions and victims of war seeking shelter a space to interact with one another as a shared community.
Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice (1982) | Orlando, Florida, USA
The Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, provides a meeting space for youth peace activists. It is hosted on land outside of Orlando and has served as a location for meetings, demonstrations, workshops, and retreats sponsored by the Coalition including our annual summer peace camps for youth and young adults. They host their own peace education activities via their Peace Education Center and regular events for outside groups working for peace and justice.
Be inspired to create your own spaces and places of peace
I hope that within these ten examples of spaces and places for peace you found some inspiration and got some ideas of how you can create spaces and places for peace. I think that these principles, ideas and approaches for creating spaces and places of peace can be applied to all the spaces we work in.
If you are involved in any activity for building peace you may think of how you can create spaces of peace learning and action within your current activities. Work with others who share your passion and interest. And perhaps even create your own space or place for peace in a physical space as you have seen from these examples.
If you found this article helpful and want to find more blog posts like this mapping organizations that build peace across a wide array of themes be sure to check out our Resources page!
If there are any great spaces or places of peace that are missing on this list and you think they should be added, please submit it at the link HERE. I periodically update my resource posts and use these inputs to help me. Thanks in advance!
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