Home  ›  Key Issues  ›  Community peace-building

Community peace-building

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Google Plus Share to Google Plus Share by Email

People affected by conflict and instability are often best positioned to know what their communities need to create lasting peace. Local conflict transformation can have a big impact globally. AFSC connects communities worldwide to foster peace, sustainability, and shared security. 

Sign up for email updates

Stay in the loop with monthly stories and resources from AFSC.

What does peace look like?-

What would peace look like in your community?

Peace is not just the absence of war. To these 19 young delegates to the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, peace means a sense of shared security, access to jobs, health care, and education. 

Peace in schools-

Teaching peace at Friends schools

Lessons on peace can be challenging to teach amid a media environment focused on war and violence. This podcast explores how Quaker schools can live out the peace testimony in and outside of the classroom.

Five ways to counter military recruitment in your school district

A key part of building a culture of peace is offering viable alternatives to violence and militarization.

Just!Us! Peacebuilding, human rights, and empowerment curriculum

Curriculum helps youth groups explore the roots of violence and work toward youth-led change.

Counter recruitment

The Peace Education program aims to limit the influence of military recruiters on middle and high school kids, to help these kids make well reflected career choices, and to provide information on jobs in peacemaking and non-violent ways to financing college. 

It's my life: A guide to alternatives after high school

Don't want to join the military but not sure what to do after high school? This guide can help you figure out what to do next.

Ending cycles of violence-

Young Somalis work to better their communities

Communities in Somalia are embracing nonviolent approaches to conflict as young people step up to their role as peace-builders.

Rebuilding peace by building a mosque

Communities come together to build a mosque as a symbol of religious freedom and harmony in West Timor and a reminder throughout Indonesia of the importance of protecting the rights of minorities.

In Haiti camp for earthquake victims, a teenager teaches peace

In Haiti’s Corail Camp, there are about 10,000 internally displaced people left homeless by the 2010 earthquake. Vanessa and others are working together to build a network of peacekeepers.

Teaching nonviolence in New Orleans, "peace" by piece

Peer-to-peer learning is proving to be an effective way to promote nonviolence in New Orleans. Through Peace by Piece, a youth-led program of AFSC’s New Orleans program, interns and community partners train youth in conflict resolution and violence reduction using arts and activism.

67 Sueños: An introduction

The Oakland-based "67 Sueños Collective" ("67 Dreams," after the 67 percent of young people who would not be affected by the DREAM Act) holds monthly encounters or "Encuentros" with undocumented youth from across the Bay Area.

The focus is to build solidarity, and to record their testimonies/stories in hopes to build awareness about the issues they face and to bear witness to their American experience.

"Help increase the Peace" training manual

The fourth edition and expanded training manual includes updated information and statistics on youth violence and education methodology, in addition to new activities and artwork. Spiral-bound for easy copying!

Help Increase the Peace Program Manual
2009 Edition, 255 Pages
$30.00 includes standard shipping and handling
Contact us for more information on bulk orders

To order, send a check payable to AFSC-HIPP to:

Local peace networks-

Local peace network handbook

This handbook is a tool to help community leaders implement urban peace-building programs in contested spaces.

Young Haitian leads others to help curb violence

In his Port-au-Prince, Haiti neighborhood, 22-year-old Wallen Calistin is known as a peacemaker.

Patient, tolerant, and shy, as a young boy he struggled with how to communicate with his friends and neighbors in one of the most vulnerable parts of one of the world’s most dangerous countries, where a long history of structural inequalities and political upheaval has spawned a culture of violence. He could see a path to a more peaceful way of life, but bringing others along on that journey proved to be his biggest challenge.

Jugglers, muralists bring peace to Guatemala City streets

In Guatemala, younger generations have grown up with the legacy of 36 years of armed conflict. Social and political exclusion and inequality put a strain on many young people, especially in urban areas. In the midst of the violence, the majority of firearm victims on the street are young men.  

Implementing local peace networks to reduce urban insecurity

Local peace networks work toward resolving community disputes, particularly in areas experiencing high levels of violence and social exclusion. This report gathers best practices for these networks.

Who we are

AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Our work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. Learn more

Where we work

AFSC has offices around the world. To see a complete list see the Where We Work page.

Get AFSC's newsletter

AFSC Online