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As we continue our journey to govern ourselves in a Culture of Peace, we acknowledge that in order to fulfill our vision and mission, we must live a Culture of Peace. Therefore, we recognize that conscious process with clearly defined and consistently embodied principles will help us demonstrate what is possible. Healthy relationships are an essential component of our work and our policies, procedures and process will reflect that as well.
MISSION, STRATEGY, ACTION
Mission
The Peace Alliance empowers civic activism for a culture of peace.
Strategy
Educate, inspire and empower participation in a grassroots citizen-based campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace legislation and advocate for additional legislation as appropriate.
Action
Create and support a sustainable Department of Peace group in every congressional district.
Enroll U.S. Representatives and Senators in support of the bill, leading to committee hearings and ultimately, a vote in Congress.
Educate, engage and inspire the public regarding the Department of Peace legislation, the value of peacebuilding, and the urgent need to reduce and prevent violence.
DEFINITIONS
Nonviolence: the expression of love and respect in speech and action.
Cooperation: interacting and working together in ways that benefit all involved and the common good.
CORE QUALITIES
Our work is centered on the Core Qualities of The Peace Alliance, what we call our “I-C’s.” We recognize these qualities as central to all that we do:
- Integrity—Recognizing that all is part of the whole and treating it accordingly; keeping our word; operating authentically, honestly and transparently
- Compassion—Coming from the strength of love, openness, empathy and caring
- Courage—Being willing to step out and be the leader; making bold requests; standing in the truth even if people call us silly or naive
- Creativity—Bringing ideas into form, not just talking about them; inviting the unique contributions of all, and ensuring there is space for freedom to generate new ideas and approaches
- Community—Being a place where people can express and be their desire for peace, and join with others in shared leadership/shared responsibility
A SYNTHESIS OF PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS
1. Nonviolence: The Peace Alliance will uphold the highest level of regard for all individuals and organizations. We commit to operate with integrity, with open communication and with respect for people, environment, and process. We will endeavor to communicate our message in ways that do not do violence to the message itself.
2. Cooperation: We will maintain an attitude of support and appreciation while working together on behalf of the common good. Our behavior will be consistent with our mission and core values as we strive to participate in a shared responsibility and shared leadership model.
3. Harmlessness: We will strive never to compromise our core values and principles, and will maintain our nonviolent focus in all things.
4. Clarity & Simplicity: We will maintain our focus as we keep things simple and work for the practical application of the vision and principles we share.
- Clear areas of responsibility and accountability will be maintained;
- We will keep in mind our objective, even under pressure;
- Cooperatively developed policies, strategy and action steps will guide our co-working;
- We will establish clear procedures for decision-making and effective program management;
- We will be conscious of creating a rhythm in our work together that supports life: individually, as a group, and of the project.
5. Interconnectedness: We acknowledge that we live in a world of interconnected relationships; one world, and we take responsibility for the presentation and influence of our work. We will do what we can to support one another in our various areas of responsibility. It is our intention that all will experience success and be supported in their work.
6. Inclusivity: We will endeavor to resolve all questions and challenges by taking a long view and making choices that meet the needs of all concerned to the best of our ability. When faced with a choice of focusing narrowly over expanding, we will include all in the process as we choose wisely and strive to create a world that works for everyone and is sustained as well.
7. Understanding: We seek to work with loving understanding and a conscious realization of how we impact others and our environment, thus making wise choices.
8. Honest Communications: We acknowledge that communication is key to manifesting peace, healthy relationships, and effective cooperation.
Thus, we will strive to
- Take responsibility for ourselves and our communication with others.
- Communicate in a timely manner
- Directly communicate with others if we have an issue with them, and call for facilitation or other support if necessary
- Be open and honest with each other, offering feedback directly and kindly, and will receive it the spirit of cooperation, rather than taking it personally
9. Living a Culture of Peace: We will strive to be the demonstration of the principles and concepts inherent in the Department of Peace, as we live a Culture of Peace based on the principles of nonviolence and cooperation.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND SHARED LEADERSHIP
We commit to taking our share of the responsibility of meeting our intentions and fulfilling our goals. At the same time, we realize that our actions influence everyone and everything around us. Therefore, we agree to do our part of this work with an awareness of and communication with all others involved in this endeavor.
We also realize that essentially everyone is a leader and we will honor that in ourselves, and support it in one another as each one of us leads in our area of responsibility while supporting the leadership of others.
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