What we do
Our commitment to peace
forumZFD is building peace on three levels: We promote the non-violent transformation of conflicts, especially in war and crisis zones. We create spaces for education and knowledge exchange. And we drive political change. Our work is carried by the experience and passion of our employees and partner organisations.
International Peacebuilding
At the heart of forumZFD's work are civil society actors who are committed to peace and non-violence in conflicts around the world. We advise and strengthen them in their commitment and implement joint projects that contribute to building more peaceful and just societies. For example, we promote the dialogue between conflicting parties, support the deconstruction of enemy stereotypes and help people to deal with the past. This peace work is carried out by international teams of qualified specialists in cooperation with experienced partner organisations.
Since 2006, we are using our expertise in international peacebuilding to promote constructive conflict management on municipal level in Germany.
The Salam Bus – An example of our peace work:
Since October 2023, the "Salam Bus" (Peace Bus) has been traveling through regions of Iraq that were particularly affected by the violent rule of ISIS. The bus brings together people from different population groups who would rarely encounter one another in everyday life. Accompanied by forumZFD staff, they engage in dialogue along the way, build trust, and develop ideas for a more just future. In this way, the Salam Bus delivers peace on wheels.
Education
We are convinced that peace can be taught and learnt. At our Academy for Conflict Transformation, we are training experts from all over the world in peacebuilding and civil conflict transformation. We focus on a holistic approach that combines the teaching of theories and principles of peace and conflict work with practical methods and a critical examination of one's own role and attitude.
Education is also at the centre of many of our international projects. For example, we create programmes for children and young people to raise their awareness of the issues of peace, justice and tolerance at an early age – also in Germany. One instrument of this work are our peace runs, organised by schoolchildren in various cities, which combine education, peace demonstrations and charity runs.
In war and crisis zones such as Ukraine, forumZFD is promoting the principles of non-violent communication.
Peace Advocacy
As the organisation that originally developed the concept of the Civil Peace Service, we continue to view ourselves as advocates of this idea. We closely and critically monitor the policies of the German government and advocate our goals to political institutions and decision-makers. Through our educational and campaign work as well as our involvement in networks and alliances, we advocate for our cause and shape the peace policy discourse.
In addition, forumZFD carries out advocacy work to ensure that the concerns of the people in our programmes are heard and to expand the scope of action of civil society actors.
Peace doesn’t come for free
Peace work is facing major challenges today: Civil society actors are under increasing pressure and state-ordered reprisals are on the rise. Above all, however, there is a lack of financial resources to implement sustainable projects and bring about long-term change.
It is clear to us that we need to be active beyond state funding. Your donation will give us the independence we need to react flexibly to new challenges and continue our peace work.
Become a part of forumZFD and join us in our commitment to peace: Donate now!