The Ashland Community
already creating the Culture of Peace
The Ashland area is amazingly rich in the number and diversity of organizations, businesses, and individuals who are contributing to the wonderful culture of this community.
A “Culture” is the sum of the shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, values, and behaviors that, in total, define a society and distinguish one group of people from another.
A “Culture of Peace” is one in which all of these attributes are fully and consciously directed towards the cultivation and promotion of peaceful and respectful interactions among all people and with the natural environment within which we all live.
Inspired by the United Nation’s Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (1999 A/Res/53/243), the Peace Wheel sectors, and the many years of dedicated work of individuals in this arena, Ashland, Oregon is set to become the first city in the USA and globally to create such a model . This will potentially become a template that can be replicated in many cities world-wide.
One of the first steps in this process has been to begin to identify groups such as yours that are already doing important, peace-promoting work in one or more of the broad cultural categories of law, habitat, education, business, culture, science, environment and religion. These groups will form the preexisting basic foundation of Ashland’s Culture of Peace.
This is about shifting mindset and behavior, and it has become well-established that the pathway to a peace culture is through local efforts in NGOs, business, education, government, and environment that come together to better understand each other and share activities. This enables deeper connections and wider collaboration toward the well-being of the community.
If you would like to add you or your organization's name to our soon-to-be-published online directory for the Community Peacebuilders Network, please click the button below.
