In recent years, violent breakouts that were previously inconceivable have occurred in certain European cities in France, Germany, Belgium, or the United Kingdom. The most prominent ones, the ones that hit the population the most, were terrorist attacks, which also made people feel more vulnerable.
Furthermore, social upheavals or outbursts have also been worrying – those that detonate with the arrest of a young person or the victories of certain sports competitions. Some types of violence are hidden, some are more visible, but all of them are insidious and must be identified and addressed.
In some meetings of local administrations, mayors show their concern for these social phenomena and consider it necessary to act and deal with these situations. In this context, the then mayoress of Madrid took the initiative and in 2017 decided to convene a discussion Forum on the problem of various forms of violence that intersect in cities. This World Forum for coexistence and peace in cities addressed the issue of various types of urban violence, discussed the paths and ways to eradicate them, also sharing studies and local good practices that allow us to transform cultures of violence into cultures of peace.
Given this commitment, AIPAZ (where the Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau participates) and the World Network of Mayors for Peace began to develop, in 2019, a methodological proposal for a Local Agenda for Peace and Coexistence, the purpose of which is to have an instrument that allows promoting the formulation, development and implementation of municipal public policies and budgets aimed at the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence. An instrument that should be consistent with the municipal policies, with the principles of sustainable development, human rights, gender equality and environmental protection. In short, promoting local governance centred on people.
If you work in a municipality and would like a presentation on the Local Peace Agendas, write to: agendespau@centredelas.org
