Peace News is a proud member of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), a network of over 200 organizations around the world that work for peace. The concept of peacebuilding itself has always been difficult to precisely define and took some effort to publish in the dictionary, as featured in this story. The AfP chose to define it not in an academic sense, but by providing clear, real-world examples of what peacebuilding means to its member organizations, in a campaign they call #PeacebuildingIs. Peace News was one of the groups invited to contribute, and you can read our submission below. You can also read the submissions of other AfP members here to learn about their work and what peacebuilding means to them.
Peace News Network: Peacebuilding is Listening
Narratives of peace are often marginalized or excluded from the news media, especially in times of violent conflict. Peace News aims to provide an alternative to sensationalized coverage of war by elevating the voices of peacebuilders. We don’t take sides, we listen – to peacebuilders, experts, and ordinary people impacted by conflict. When the war in Gaza began, we had an obligation to cover it, as any news organization would. Unlike many news organizations focused on the violence, voices of elites or extremists, and victory framing, we chose to focus on the voices of ordinary people and peacebuilders and solutions to the conflict.
We met with Israeli and Palestinian representatives of the Parent’s Circle, a group of people who had lost family members to the conflict, and chose to work to build peace and end the cycle of violence. We heard from Stand Together, which works to build solidarity between Israelis and Palestinians. We listened to their stories, and shared them with our audience. As journalists, the way we build peace isn’t through our own actions, but by sharing the words and actions of others. This conflict will only end when both sides listen to one another, and accept their shared humanity. With our stories, we hope to contribute to building an environment of empathy and promote a narrative of hope.
If you want to read more stories about peacebuilding, you can sign up for both of our newsletters here, and stay up to date on efforts to build peace around the world.
