Content
Around two billion people worldwide live in countries affected by violent conflict. Many of these conflicts are concentrated in regions in the Global South that are also severely impacted by global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, resource scarcity and political instability. It is therefore important to pool peace policy-related expertise and approaches from governmental and civil society organisations, refine them and integrate them into development processes.
The Working Group on Peace and Development (FriEnt) was established for this purpose in 2001. Its members include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Brot für die Welt, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Misereor, the Civil Peace Service Group (ZFD), the Platform for Civil Conflict Transformation (PZKB) and the Berghof Foundation. FriEnt also works closely with many national and international organisations and networks.
Objective
Peacebuilding strategies and approaches and civil crisis prevention have been developed further and are an important part of national and international political and development processes.
Approach
The project provides financial, personnel and organisational resources to FriEnt and manages the Working Group. It is responsible for key tasks, such as strategic planning, providing advice on current peacebuilding topics, and managing communication work. It also connects participating actors in Germany and around the world through dialogue forums and events. In addition, the project supports key technical processes and agendas, including those relating to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.