The Community of Practices has been proposed during the meeting in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), organized by the UNESCO, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research and the African Union, on September 20th and 21st, 2013.
Representatives of 26 foundations and research institutes, which are located in more than 20 African countries, decided to establishment a network for the promotion of a culture of peace in Africa in order to coordinate their respective operations and to implement joint projects.
The Community of Practices is promoted by Transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair on "Human Development and Culture of Peace" at the University of Florence, along with the UNESCO Africa Department, under the Intersectoral and Interdisciplinary Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence.
UNESCO Africa Department
The UNESCO Africa Department is the focal point for all questions relating to Africa, and is responsible for advising the Unesco Director-General thereon. It has responsibilities both as a central service and with regard to the programme. To give new impetus to its work and to strengthen its role in monitoring the Global priority Africa, hence, from the phase of identifying priorities and to be taken into account by the Organization, to evaluate operations and their real impact on the field, the Africa Department is developing a strategy that intend to setting up development-oriented programs. So Unesco Africa Department with African Union are the promoter of Luanda Forum 2013, which place particular emphasis on strategic areas such as the link between culture, education and development, technology, innovation and science education, culture and sustainable development. Unesco Africa Department and African Union offer support and facilities to implement Luanda Action Plan.
Transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair on "Human Development and Culture of Peace" at the University of Florence
The Transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair on "Human Development and Culture of Peace" at the University of Florence was established in May 17, 2006. The UNESCO Chair at the University of Florence has developed a dynamic and open framework based both on a theoretical and operational perspective: this framework is divided into problematic focus, which are profoundly intertwined at different levels and refer to different fields of study and intervention. The latter allows to deal with the complex and specific issues faced by the Chair as a whole, in their constituent interwoven elements, exploring the historical and spatial features of societies and cultures, engaging in change for human development and peace. It all starts from changes in the educational and training processes and the related products of human knowledge.
The Network of Foundations and Research Institutions for the promotion of a culture of peace in Africa is part of a follow-up to the Pan-African Forum on "Sources and Resources for a Culture of Pace" held in Luanda (Angola), in March 2013. This Forum adopted an Action Plan for a Culture of Peace in Africa and launched a continental Movement for a culture of peace in order to raise awareness and mobilize campaigns at national level under the motto "Make peace happen". One of the key conclusions of the Luanda Forum was the launch of a multi-stakeholders' partnership in order to coordinate their respective operations and to implement joint projects.The Felix Houphouet Boigny Foundation for Peace Research has been recognized as Secretariat of the Network.
Foundation members
Organizations wishing to join the network