The 2011 Interpeace Annual Report, Bringing People Together To Build Peace, is being distributed now and is also available online.

Bringing people together to build peace

Interpeace is one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organizations. We are committed to inclusiveness – bringing people together to build lasting peace is at the heart of our peacebuilding approach.

Scott M. Weber, Director-General of Interpeace explains in his Annual Report letter: “Our expertise in partnering with local people to design and implement locally-led peacebuilding processes is widely recognized and increasingly sought-after.”

Highlighting recent achievements

This 2011 Annual Report focuses on the recent achievements of the 300 peacebuilders that work every day to build peace in their societies. In addition to the thematic programme on Constitution-making for Peace, Interpeace currently operates peacebuilding programmes in 16 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe and the Middle East.

A handbook that fills a critical gap

2011 saw the publication of Interpeace’s  constitution-making handbook (PDF, English) - a practical guide on how to design constitution-making processes. The handbook is now available in Arabic (PDF) and translations in French and Vietnamese are underway.

Peace houses in Timor-Leste

Over the course of 2011, Interpeace’s local partner CEPAD facilitated the construction of peace houses in Aileu, Baucau and Maliana. The peace houses are inspired by a local tradition of bringing people together in a designated space for community dialogue to resolve conflicts.

Five-year Strategic Plan

Another highlight in 2011 was the development and approval of Interpeace’s five-year Strategic Plan. The plan sets out the targets for the organization in the years to come.

Scott adds: “We are now better positioned to apply these principles and approaches to more crisis situations around the world and to be more responsive to requests from the United Nations and other institutions for our advice, guidance and operational involvement.”

Three outstanding individuals

This Annual Report also highlights three outstanding individuals who work to build capacities to manage conflict within their own societies: Fafali Koudawo in Guinea-Bissau, João Boavida from Timor-Leste and Wendy Cuellar from Guatemala.

Institutional achievements

In 2011, Interpeace was named among the Top 100 NGOs globally by the Global Journal.

We also continue to be a ZEWO certified non-profit organization. The ZEWO seal is awarded to Swiss organizations that provide transparent information, have independent and appropriate control mechanisms in place, communicate openly and procure their funds in a fair manner. For the third year in a row, Interpeace prepared its financial statements in accordance with the highest financial reporting standard – the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).