'Europe, vote for Peace!'

A first series of events took place in Brussels from 12 to 15 October 2009, uniting NGO representatives and active citizens from all over Europe for a networking meeting and a series of public events.

On the 14th October 2009, participants connected to the 'Europe, Vote for Peace!' campaign took the floor at the European Parliament . The initiative, which was led by forumZFD and Nonviolent Peaceforce, aimed at promoting the campaign's three key proposals:

• The establishment of a peacebuilding directorate within the new European External Action Service (EEAS). The aim of this proposal is to strengthen the EU's institutional infrastructure for peacebuilding.

• To create a more structured dialogue with civil society organisations, supported by institutional mechanisms, in order to make better use of the expertise available within civil society.

• Institutional support for a European Civil Peace Service (ECPS) programme under which certified civil society organisations would send out specialist peace consultants and peace teams to support and protect local civil societies working for dialogue and reconciliation through nonviolent means.

Go the the Our Proposals page to read more about our policy recommendations.

As part of the Peace Project Europe events series, the Brussels events gathered more than 100 individuals from all over Europe. The European Parliament day was hosted by the Romanian Socialist MEP Corina Cretu, who is Vice-Chair of the Development Committee. The audience was made up of representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and their assistants, as well as officials from other European Institutions.

Seminar - Civil society working on conflict - Potentials for advancing the EU's role as a global actor for peace.

Panel discussion - Towards an European Civil Peace Service - Civil society proposals to the new European Parliament.