COSMAX
PeaceTable
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Culture of Peace — Why It Matters
UNESCO PROGRAM
Key points of the UNESCO Culture of Peace program:
- Education for Peace: Promoting values, attitudes, and behaviors that reinforce non-violence, tolerance, and empathy
- Sustainable Development: Eradicating poverty and promoting economic/social development.
- Human Rights: Respecting, promoting, and protecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- Gender Equality: Ensuring full participation and empowerment of women.
- Democratic Participation: Fostering democratic principles, civic engagement, and community involvement.
- Democratic Understanding/Tolerance: Promoting solidarity and respect for cultural diversity.
- Free Flow of Information: Utilizing media and technology to combat hate speech and promote dialogue.
- International Peace and Security: Disarmament and peaceful conflict resolution.
These principles are designed to be implemented through local action and capacity building, rather than being imposed from outside.
Our Role
COSMAX exists to breathe life into the Culture of Peace — not as an abstract ideal, but as something you can see in a gallery, feel on a dancefloor, and experience on a beach with strangers passing a ball through a chrome circle together.
Through our token, our exhibitions and our sports game, we are building the circle: a growing community of artists, makers, movers and dreamers, who believe that creativity is one of the most powerful forces for peace in the world.
Focus Areas for Mondiacult 2025
The inclusion of Culture of Peace as a dedicated theme represents a significant evolution in UNESCO’s approach to cultural policy. While previous Mondiacult conferences touched on peace-related aspects, the 2025 conference elevates this dimension to a central focus in recognition that:
- Cultural tensions often underlie broader societal conflicts
- Cultural expressions can serve as powerful tools for reconciliation
- Sustainable development is impossible without peaceful societies
- Traditional cultural practices often contain valuable conflict resolution mechanisms
- Digital transformation creates both new opportunities and challenges for peace-building
- Cultural institutions can serve as “peace infrastructures” in divided communities
The theme aligns with UNESCO’s founding mission “to build peace in the minds of men and women” and connects cultural policy directly to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
Culture of Peace
Developing initiatives that use culture as a foundation for peace-building. This expansive theme will address:
- Conceptual Framework: Building on UNESCO’s longstanding commitment to promoting a Culture of Peace, defined as a set of values, attitudes, and behaviors that reject violence and address root causes of conflict
- Cross-cultural Dialogue: Establishing platforms for intercultural and interfaith dialogue to foster mutual understanding and respect across diverse communities
- Educational Initiatives: Integrating peace education, conflict resolution, and critical thinking skills into cultural and educational programs
- Heritage for Peace: Utilizing shared cultural heritage as neutral spaces for reconciliation in post-conflict settings
- Media and Communication: Promoting responsible journalism and media literacy to counter hate speech and misinformation
- Gender Equality: Addressing gender-based violence and promoting women’s leadership in peace-building through cultural initiatives
- Youth Engagement: Creating targeted programs for youth participation in cultural peace-building activities
- Indigenous Knowledge: Recognizing and incorporating indigenous conflict resolution practices and wisdom traditions
- Arts for Peace: Supporting artistic expressions that promote healing, reconciliation, and nonviolent social transformation
- Digital Cooperation: Establishing ethical guidelines for online cultural exchanges that foster respect and understanding