Creators of Peace was launched in 1991 at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, Switzerland by the Honourable Anna Abdallah Msekwa of Tanzania, a respected politician and champion of women’s rights.

In her inaugural speech, she urged everyone to “create peace wherever we are, in our hearts, our homes, our workplace and our community. We all pretend that someone else is the stumbling block... Could that someone be myself?”.

Creators of Peace is a women-led organisation and global network practising peace in over 42 countries on 6 continents through workshops, personal encounters, community building activities and conferences.

The main programme of Creators of Peace is the ‍‍Peace Circle.

A Creators of Peace Circle is guided by trained facilitators. With the help of facilitators, participants work together through a series of "gathering points" or conversation starters that are designed to elicit honest and open sharing of their personal experiences, beliefs and values.

Over 500 facilitators have been trained through the Creators of Peace network worldwide. All facilitators across the network follow the same manual — available in Axomiya, English, French, German, Kirundi, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Bahasa and Spanish.

The manual is designed to be contextualised so it can be adapted to the cultural and social needs of each community.

CoP develop peace-building programmes, exercises and events within our organisation and in partnership with others, and will continue to offer new programmes as the network expands worldwide. ‍

We invite women to join our Peace Circles which take place over weekends or as a series of weekly meetings.

The programme is facilitated in the style of a ‘talking circle’ where all voices are heard respectfully and a safe space is established to allow individuals to explore diverse perspectives. Story sharing plays a crucial role in our programme.

Group sizes are ideally a maximum of 12 women however we do work with larger groups.

The Gathering Points explored are:

• What is peace anyway?

• Circles of concern

• What destroys peace & what builds it?

• Qualities of a peace creator

• Inner peace

• Listening to others

• Inner listening

• The power of forgiveness

• Peace in practice

• Evaluate & commit

The initiative is open to women from all backgrounds, ages and cultures who want to become more empowered, inspired, hopeful and effective.

We organise Peace Circles throughout the year across the country and also run regular social events, workshops/tasters and talks. 

Open to women 18yrs+

Participants will leave with ‘tools’ they can use in their daily lives.

Are there virtual Peace Circles?

Yes! Since Covid we have increasingly led remote, virtual Peace Circles. We are excited about the opportunity provided by virtual gatherings to connect people across physical distances.

Our Peace Circle tasters can be delivered either as a half day or a full day session dependent on the group size.

The tasters are designed to explore some of the topics in a full Peace Circle and have an opportunity to share stories. Participants leave with ‘tools’ they can use in their daily lives.

• Transforming, empowering and engaging women in peace creation for all

• Through our programmes, conferences and community-building activities we aim to:

  • Engage communities in peace creation

  • Prevent violence and despair by addressing the roots of conflict — internally within us and externally around us

  • Promote a change of heart and attitude as a primary tool of peace creation, raising awareness of the personal values needed for effective social action

  • Build bridges and friendships across racial, religious and social divides

  • Understand and advocate forgiveness and healing

  • Build just, caring and inclusive communities

  • Value diversity, inclusivity and resilience

  • Seek constructive partnerships with men and the restoration of the respect and trust necessary for joint action, whilst remaining a women’s initiative

  • Create a network of solidarity for those engaged in peacebuilding around the world

We Believe

• Every person has a part to play and something to contribute

• Every person can start the process of transformation in their own heart and life

• Every person has a story to tell and a need to be heard

• Every person can be a compassionate listener to the truth within, to the truths of others and to the needs of the wider community

We work and collaborate with individuals, groups, community’s, organisations and businesses. We work with the NGO sector and Corporate.

Please get in touch to find out more.