It’s time to offer your support to peacemakers and peace initiatives around the world!

The Public Peace Prize is the only peace award in the world for which the candidates are proposed, nominated and supported simply by citizens of the world. This mark of recognition allows everyone to offer their appreciation for initiatives and for people, known or unknown, who are working for reconciliation, non-violence and mutual aid.

The period of public support, during which it will be possible to encourage and make better known the peacemakers and peace initiatives, runs from Monday January 9th to Friday, January 20th 2017.

Sign up on the website, “like” our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for all the details, and invite your friends to participate!

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Excerpts from peace messages from 2016 Public Peace Prize Laureates

“We are all subjected to unquestionable assumptions that rest security in higher walls and stronger fences, more sophisticated weapons, bigger prisons and fear of the “other.” But we who would be peacemakers are called to define security in a different way – as freedom from want, freedom from fear, solidarity and community. We are called to commit our lives to active nonviolence; to live simply; to act with courage for social justice.”

Marie Dennis

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“A key element in peace making is the full acknowledgment of how people have been wronged, and the opportunity to be heard. To break the chain that turns victims into victimisers, there needs to be safe and sacred spaces where people have permission to express how they feel about what happened to them and begin to detoxify. Dealing with the psychological, emotional and spiritual effects of the past are equally as important components of peace building as political, economic and social.” transformation.

Michael Lapsley

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“I was a child soldier.  I learned to see the other as an enemy and in order to survive and defend my own; I picked up a machine gun and bombs.  After that, I wanted to change the Earth for I had understood how we are manipulated to be at war.  Life brought me to the discovery that wars are being waged inside of us.  My work for peace is to bring each one of us to pause, and allow ourselves to see within ourselves the difference we can make today, to be at peace and to live in peace.”

Antoinette Layoun

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“When it comes to peace I think the most important thing for me is to have people come together to celebrate life together as one.  I also think that it is time that people look beyond our differences not only to respect each other but to make sure that every human being has equal opportunity.  One of the things I try to put into practice is to live my life with a conscious mind, because I believe that peace itself starts from home and I think that it is everyone’s obligation to be part of the process.”

Narine Dat Sookram

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Read the peace messages from 2016 Public Peace Prize Laureates
https://publicpeaceprize.org/2016-peace-messages/

Mensajes de Paz de Los Laureados del Premio del Público por la Paz, edición 2016
https://publicpeaceprize.org/mensajes-de-paz-de-2016/