National Peace Foundation

The National Peace Foundation "is an organization that was originally a part of the grassroots campaign to establish an Academy of Peace. Its membership was successful in lobbying Congress so that the US Institute of Peace was established in 1984. The National Peace Foundation (NPF) grassroots has continued as a body of citizens interested in establishing foundations for peace through education, conflict resolution and people to people exchanges. It is both nonpartisan and not for profit.

"As such, it has participated in a congressionally funded program called Open World http://www.openworld.gov/ since 1999. Over that period of time, more than 10,000 Russian leaders have been hosted in communities throughout the U.S. NPF has hosted almost a thousand of those individuals in civil society, rule of law, cultural and environmental community based programs. To date, it has hosted Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian leaders, adults under the age of 45 who have shown an interest in democratic reform and citizen initiative." 

The National Peace Foundation is a founding member of the Alliance for International Conflict Resolution and Prevention.

History
"The National Peace Foundation has its roots in the peace academy idea that was born in the minds of many people and ripened into a grassroots movement that became known as the National Peace Academy Campaign. The Campaign was founded in 1976 as a public service organization, with the objective of establishing a federally chartered educational institution dedicated to peacemaking and conflict resolution. By 1984, the Campaign had grown to 45,000 members.

"Through the efforts of the Campaign, Congress established a bipartisan commission in 1979 to study the feasibility of creating a U.S. Academy for Peace and Conflict Resolution. The Commission was chaired by the late Senator Spark M. Matsunaga of Hawaii and its vice-chair was the late Dr. James H. Laue, later the first chair of the Foundation.

"After holding hearings throughout the United States in 1980, the Commission submitted a preliminary report to President Carter and the Congress in September 1980, recommending the establishment of the Peace Academy. In 1981, the final report was submitted to President Reagan and a bill with bipartisan sponsorship was introduced in both Houses of Congress to carry out the provisions of the Commission report.

"In 1982, the National Peace Institute Foundation was formed as the educational affiliate of the National Peace Academy Campaign to develop educational programs to promote public understanding of the need for the Peace Academy and to create the institutional relationships that would enable the Academy to function effectively.

"The Campaign and Foundation succeeded in winning 55 Senator and 177 Representative as co-sponsors, and the endorsement of 14 state legislatures and 40 national professional organizations. The Campaign ushered the Peace Academy Bill through several Congressional hearings, floor debates and final passage as the US Institute of Peace Act in 1984.

"With the passage and signing of the Peace Institute legislation, the lobbying-oriented National Peace Academy Campaign drew to a close. In 1985, the Foundation undertook a lead role in a public education program about the US Institute of and the following year the Foundation began to play its new role in public education on conflict resolution. The Foundation began its newsletter, the Peace Reporter, reporting on Foundation programs, peace education, the growth and progress of the US Institute of Peace, and other peace-related issues to its members. The Foundation also published a bibliography of literature containing the basic background for international peacemaking and conflict resolution and ran a trial a computer conference in peacemaking." 

Directors

 * Sarah Harder Chair
 * W. Landis Jones Vice Chair
 * Alexander Sloan
 * Bert Brandenburg
 * Cathy Sultan
 * Lee Feldman
 * J. Thomas Bertrand, ex officio

Former Directors
 * Josh Ruebner
 * Paul B. Dornan
 * Thaddeus J. Burns, Esq. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, Brussels

Advisory Board Members
Source
 * Richard T. Arndt, President, Americans for UNESCO, Former President, Fulbright Association
 * Mariann Laue Baker
 * Olga Bessolova, Russian Association of University Women
 * Elise Boulding, Ph.D., Professor Emertia, Dartmouth College
 * Betty Bumpers, Founder of Peace Links and Every Child By Two
 * David Cohen, Co-Director, Advocacy Institute
 * John P. Dunfey, Chair, Global Citizens Circle
 * Roger Fisher, Ph.D., Harvard Law School
 * Herbert C. Kelman, Ph.D. Harvard University
 * Jane Mapes
 * Rukudzo Murapa, Vice Cheancellor, Africa University, Zimbabwe
 * M. J Rosenberg, Author, IPF Friday
 * Abdul Aziz Said, Ph.D., School of International Service, American University
 * The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, South Africa
 * Thomas C. Westropp, Former Board Chair, National Peace Foundation
 * The Honorable Andrew Young, Good Works International

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Fund for Peace

Contact

 * National Peace Foundation
 * 666 Eleventh St. NW, Suite 202
 * Washington, DC 20001
 * Web: http://www.nationalpeace.org