Introduction

If we are to build a more peaceful culture, we must both use imagination and face current reality. On the one hand, building requires us to imagine what we want to construct, and we know that societies are moved by positive images of the future, images that pull behaviors that bring that future into being (Polak 1972). On the other hand, we must face both our propensity for violence and our capacity for peace. In Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History, Boulding (2000) points out that our warlike culture is accompanied with a concurrent culture of peace. We are taught a history of power and conquest, our religions portray a holy war against evil, and our minds are so full of violent images and language that is difficult for us to imagine a peaceful culture and believe in its possibility. Yet, much actual history is of a peaceful dailiness, our religions also portray peaceful gardens that cultivate the oneness of humanity and are sanctuaries of nonviolence, and our minds know that we are interdependent and must learn to live with one another

In a culture of peace, people behave in ways that promote mutual caring and wellbeing. These behaviors are supported by particular institutional arrangements, and they reflect particular societal norms, values, and know how. Boulding (2000) observes that such a culture attempts to offer mutual security by acknowledging the importance of diversity, an appreciation of our human identity, and our kinship with the earth. This handbook is about building such cultures. It is based on the UN initiative to build a culture of peace for the world's children