From prayer to dance, to political activism, to the sharing of memories, to collective climate action, to re-humanisation: peace can be found, crafted, fought for and promoted in many different ways. This ‘room’ in our museum brings together a wide range of approaches to peace-finding and peace-building to celebrate the diversity of options we have available to us. Some involve mind work: meditation, or adjusting our thinking about in-groups and out-groups. Others are physical: channeling or communicating peace through our bodies. Some revolve around personal interactions: a cup of tea, or the exchange of grief, regret, stories. Others catalyse communities into collective action, so that everyone has a chance to play a part. Humans are a resourceful and creative species: there are as many ways to find and make peace as there are people in the world.
‘We Came in Peace for All Mankind’: Apollo 11 and Peace Rhetoric
On July 20th, 1969, the astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made…
The White Helmets: Beacons of Hope in the Midst of War
In peacebuilding processes, many different actors play a role. One important role in peacebuilding…
Peace at Home: Civil Society Organisations in St Andrews
When imagining peacebuilding organisations, our first thought may often be of large, international groups…
The Sound of Peace: The Transformative Influence of Rock Nacional in Argentina
Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina was plunged into a period of darkness and conflict….
Pilgrimage to Peace on the Camino de Santiago
Every year, thousands of people from around the world flock to Portugal, Spain, and…
The Climb: Finding Peace in Mountaineering
When you imagine peace, there are certain images that come to mind. A tranquil…
Gastrodiplomacy: food and culture in peace-making
‘We’re using food as an entry point to help people explore cultures that aren’t…
Repurposing tradition: Andean Women in Peruvian Art and Activism
The Andean community of Sarhua, located in southern Peru, is an indigenous community with…
Peace and Transcendence: Mundane Experiences
‘Day-to-day things, the mundane, are what keeps the motor running. How extraordinary the ordinary really…
Active Hope in the Climate Crisis
“It isn’t my job to fix this!” “Nothing I can do will make a…
The Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in Peace
In one way or another, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an instrumental role in contributing…
Peace in Disney’s fairy tales: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Disney’s animated film, The Little Mermaid, was released in 1989 and follows the story…
The Eurovision Song Contest and its peace projects – from European reconciliation to queer utopia?
“Love peace peace love Make it unforgettable You will be the best And win…
Building a Utopia: Palmanova, Italy
Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich – for what greater wealth can there…
The Place of Principled Impartiality in Peace Work
EAs help with olive picking near Anabta Checkpoint (Tulkarem)Photo: Sara avMaat, 2010, EAPPI https://www.flickr.com/photos/unitedchurchcda/12839921063/…
Observation as a Tool for Peace in Palestine and Israel
‘Jayyus, Palestine 2005 – The main commitment of the Ecumenical Accompaniers in Jayyus was…
The Place of Neutrality in Peace Work
‘Family reunification, DR Congo. Trying to locate people, and put them back into contact…
Building Trust from the Inside Out: The IFRC’s Comprehensive Building Trust Programme for COVID-19 Response
Trust is essential for NGOs to do effective work serving individuals around the world….
Peace and Transcendence: Awe-Inspiring Experiences
Have you ever reached the top of a hill; emerged from a tree-lined bend…
Kartarpur Corridor
When India and Pakistan were Partitioned in 1947, the state of Punjab, the homeland…
Close Encounters of the Peaceful Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 film written and directed by…
Peace as Transcendence
‘Being human profoundly means to be open to the world, a world, that is,…
Stopping Bullets With Paper
Trigger warning: violence against children, psychological trauma “The LRA know they don’t have a…
Truth, Justice, and a Hard-Boiled Egg: Peace and Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch
“Don’t put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That’s why they’re…
The Inner Peace of Mary Oliver’s Poetry
Award-winning poet Mary Oliver has published more than fifteen collections of poetry in the…
Chintu Ka Birthday
Chintu Ka Birthday (lit. Chintu’s Birthday) is a 2019 Hindi-language film which follows a…
(Un)Natural Altruism?
Trigger warning: references to genocide and ethnic violence As ethnic and political violence erupted…
Machuca (2004): Children and Conflict in Cinema
Gallery of Victims in El museo de la memoria y los derechos humanos In…
Place is the Path to Peace
How would you describe the landscape of peace? The landscape of war, propagated by…
The Plowshares Movement
The Plowshares Movement originates from a protest action which took place in Pennsylvania in…
Pockets of Peace in St Andrews
As my research on peace has developed further in the direction of taking love…
Peace on the Airwaves
Trigger warning: gendered violence, psychological trauma The aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in…
‘Could Be Laughs’: MASH, Film, and Artivism
MASH was an American TV show which ran from 1972 to 1983. It followed…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): The Experimental City
‘You become so attached to what you believe is the future, and a better…
The Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan
A Christmas service in Darfur, South Sudan. Between the 5th and 7th of July…
As If It Had Seen Something Real: Peace and Possession (1981)
Trigger warnings: blood, body horror, self-harm, suicide ‘When I was a boy, my dog…
And what if things were different? Rapping for empathy
Bigflo and Oli are two French rappers, who regularly write pieces devoted to political…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Mediation and Disarmament
I do not know whether Quakers have special aptitudes or skills as mediators, but…
Beach Party Vietnam
Trigger warning: mutilation The Dead Milkmen were a punk rock band from Pennsylvania, known…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): Arcosanti
Exterior and interior of Arcosanti, photos by Finn on Unsplash ‘The problem I am…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Visualising Peace as Relief from Suffering
‘Almost always there is, behind the physical need, something much less concrete, a damaged…
Screenplay: No Love Lost
This summer I went with a group of friends to a nightclub in Edinburgh….