About Us
Interpeace is an international organization for peacebuilding that supports locally led initiatives around the world. Interpeace tailors its approach to each society and ensures that the work is locally owned and driven. Together with local partners and local teams, Interpeace jointly develops peacebuilding programmes and helps establish processes of change that connect local communities, civil society, government and the international community.
We were initially established in 1994 by the United Nations to develop innovative solutions to build peace. We have a proven and recognized approach to enable people to build lasting peace.
History shows us that peace is possible. Throughout our 25 years of experience in peacebuilding, we know that peace cannot be imported from the outside and must be built from within a society. This is why Interpeace tailors its approach to each society and ensures that the work is locally driven. Interpeace believes that every society has what it needs to build peace. Our role is to support societies to harness their strengths. Together with local partners, we jointly develop peacebuilding programmes. We help establish processes of change that connect local communities, civil society, government and the international community through our Track 6 approach.
As a strategic partner of the United Nations, Interpeace is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has offices in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Brussels, Belgium; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Nairobi, Kenya; New York, USA and Stockholm, Sweden.
We support more than 20 locally led peacebuilding initiatives in Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Mission & Values
Our mandate
Interpeace’s mandate is:
1. To strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion.
2. To assist the international community (and in particular the United Nations) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world.
Our mission
Interpeace is dedicated to building lasting peace by reinforcing the capacities of societies to overcome deep divisions and to address conflict in non-violent ways. We are rooted in local realities, drawing strength from an alliance of national teams with a long-term commitment to building peace in their own societies. We believe in the wisdom of listening, the power of participation and the strength of informed dialogue to build understanding and trust – the foundations of peacebuilding.
Our values
- Peace is about resolving conflict without violence.
- Respect for local culture and belief in the power of local capacities, ideas and solutions.
- Trust between people is a critical foundation for lasting peace.
- Integrity in ensuring that we are principled, forthright and sincere.
- Participation is key as active interaction transforms relationships.
Our working principles
As we work to support the mission of the organization we adhere to a number of principles that govern our work. We focus on being:
- Consultative, inclusive and decisive.
- Respectful, underlining the belief that the quality of personal interaction is as important as its substance.
- Disciplined and results-orientated.
- Learning orientated and knowledge-based.
- Balanced in our information sources and approach to gender, culture and age.
- Transparent, honest and sincere.
- Objective by creating and protecting a neutral space.
- Caring and empathetic.
- Pioneering in seeking new and better ways to be effective.
