About
WPV
The World Peace Volunteers (WPV) is a registered civil society organization in Ghana which aims at promoting world peace through human rights advocacy, freedom of expressions, consolidating the rule of law and entrenching democratic values, good governance through the observation of elections, conflict resolution and arbitration activities, etc. in Ghana and the world at large.
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) works for a world in which the human rights, freedoms and the dignity of all people are protected, celebrated, and realized, in which state and social, economic, legal and political systems respect both the individual and the community, in which men and women have equal opportunity and rights, and in which all generations, cultures and people are respected and valued as vital.
With our largely voluntary active citizenship we aim to contribute to awareness changes grounded on an inclusive, humanist perspective that upholds values of appreciation of the other and self-esteem of the individual. In our view, transformed mindsets can then inform constructive intergroup relationship building and dialogue facilitation – a necessary condition for reconciliation and healing in peace building and the basis for mutual acceptance between various communities and social groups. In our project work, we strongly focus on community-based needs and subsequently development of local capabilities and dialogue structures.
We dedicated to a world in which effective infrastructure and capacities for democratic participation and civic engagement, peacebuilding, violence prevention and healing after level violence are strengthened at every level and in which ownership for peace, democracy and human rights lies with in each of our communities, while being a common global commitment.
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) envisages to build a world in which peace becomes the norm, democracy the foundation of healthy societies, respect for human dignity and celebration of multiculturalism and diversity the basis of our interactions, and all people and citizens are active in being the change we want to see in the world.
We contribute to a sustainable way to the establishment of a lasting peace in the world by building the capacity of volunteers to help communities prevent, resolve, and transform conflicts through efficient gathering, processing and use of conflict data for peace building.
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) believes in a systems approach to peace-building that recognizes the complexity of modern conflict, and which connects the multiple sectors working for peace-making string linkages between the local, regional, national and global levels to create a stringer scaffolding for peace.
We use the full spectrum of our operational capabilities from research, to training, direct engagement, peace operations, awareness raising, mobilization, and building of multistakeholder partnerships and alliances to prevent violence, build collaborative spaces and initiatives to address conflicts constructively, and strengthen the development of effective, sustainable and standing infrastructure and capabilities for peace with each community and country and at the regional and global levels.
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) mobilizes and engage citizens, governments and national and international organizations to work actively individually and together to overcome all forms of direct, structural and cultural violence, and to join together to build direct, structural and cultural peace.
We cultivate innovative by accelerating and integrating new concepts and approaches to peace and security, and by breaking down sectorial silos.
We encourage inventive and collaborative programming that strengthens peace-building practice. We push the boundaries of traditional peace-building and effectiveness, and pioneer new connections across sectors in related fields. Across our work, we build strong connections with key stakeholders, in the policy, academic, media, and non-governmental communities.
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) harnesses our wide community to strengthen the voice of peace-building and to create more rigorous, effective practice. We encourage a culture of learning, monitoring and evaluation across the fields, in order to develop an evidence-based approach to complex social change.
We influence the broader peace-building fields by fostering an understanding of systematic approach to peace-building, and creating a broad constituency for peace. We raise public awareness and promote social actions through the use of Media and effective storytelling, across a range of platforms and settings.
ELECTION OBSERVATION
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) has actively been involved in election observation exercises/mission in Ghana and other countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta, Egypt, UK, USA, etc. World Peace Volunteers (WPV) is really known to numerous Electoral Management Authorities across the globe on our previous communications and observation missions in the past, and we intend to export our knowledge-based experience in peace-building to the Ghana General Elections in 2024.
ACCREDITATION
The World Peace Volunteers (WPV) has been accredited by the Electoral Commission of the United Kingdom to observe all elections in UK. The organization is also accredited ECOSOC Status by the NGO Branch of the United Nations (UN).
OUR MISSION
Building lasting and sustainable peace by reinforcing the capacities of societies to overcome deep divisions and address conflict in non-violent ways.
OUR VISION
To build a world free from all forms of violence.
OUR VALUES
As a global peace-building organization, World Peace Volunteers (WPV) share a common values and principles that guide our work. These values are based on a holistic understanding of peace, so not only the absence of war or direct violence, but also the pretense of positive conditions that support physical, psychological, social, cultural, economic and environmental well-being. We are committed to build a sustainable peace that is owned and led by local communities, extents across different fields, and focuses on violence prevention.
Inclusivity
Under the umbrella of inclusivity, diversity, respect and equality are central to World Peace Volunteers (WPV). We are peace builders representing a wide variety of social, religious, gender and ethnic identity, abilities, cultures, and approaches. In order to make the most of the riches of our diversity, we ensure that our activities and engagements are inclusive of people from different backgrounds and walks of life, and don’t leave behind those who face particular forms of exclusions. This approach is also important in our membership approach seeking to represent voices the “usual suspects”. We aim to promote gender-responsive and transformative approaches in peace-building.
Dignity
Our dignity is about the fair and equal treatment of all actors in peace processes. It is only through considering the interests, views and needs of all persons that a process, and in turn the peace itself, can be legitimate.
Solidarity
World Peace Volunteers (WPV) reflects the power of solidarity. We share our success and challenges. We are a supportive community of grassroots and globally aware people. Our interconnectedness increases our threats and violence around us, inspiring us to take collaborative action as a movement. This is particularly important to support the creation of safe spaces for enjoyments of our embers.
Humanity
Our humanity is about ensuring that all those involved in peacemaking strive to be empathetic and respectful of others. For international actors this means enabling, rather than leading, peace processes. They must see themselves as midwives, not architects.
Creativity
Our creativity, innovative and non-formal approaches are unique to World Peace Volunteers (WPV) and people alike. We seek continuous learning, adapting to our changing world, staying relevant, agile and impactful. In this strategy, we support sustainable innovation and non-formal approaches that we are people-centered and rights-based and advocate for our partners and people to recognize the same.
Nonviolence
Opposing all forms of violence, including physical, verbal, social, cultural, environmental and structural violence, is central to our Vision we want. We are dedicated to do no harm and to work nonviolently at all times.
Authenticity
Genuine approaches to people participation, leadership and empowerment are fundamental to World Peace Volunteers (WPV), beyond tokenism and with real impact. This is true in the way we define our work, aim to work with gender, but also involves giving our members a direct role in assessing the accountability, transparency and agency of people involved in building peace.
OVERALL GOALS
Our cardinal goal is to build sustainable peace, thereby creating an enabling environment for development in the world.
OBJECTIVES
Main Objective
To promote human rights, governance, conflict prevention and resolution and peace-building for sustainable development.
Specific Objective
- To promote peace, cohesion and political dialogue to prevent, mitigate and manage political and election-related conflicts.
- To empower the community and facilitate recovery, rehabilitation and development for vulnerable/marginalized groups in the world.
- To help resolve conflicts between the people and the governments in order to reduce and finally abolish violence.
- To support the process of conflict prevention, resolution and management, social cohesion, healing and reconciliation.
- To strengthen gender mainstreaming in peace, human rights and development in the world.
- To mainstream human rights including the rights of the vulnerable and marginalized groups in peace and development processes in the globe, with a focus on fragile, conflict-affected and post conflict communities.
- To support generation and training of capacities for sustainable peace and development in the world.
- To undertake applied research for support of policy development and training on peace, human rights and development in the world.
- To strengthen conflict resolution and peace infrastructures that effectively resolve conflicts and curb electoral related violence.
- To increase understanding, tolerance, trust and peaceful co-existence among people.
- To reduce incidences of electoral violence, hate speech, ethnic contempt in social media and public spaces.